THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF.  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS 


TSattantgne  £«W 

BALLANTYNE  AND   HANSON,   EDINBURGH 
CIIANDOS    STREET,   LONDON 


PART    I. 

EXTINCT    BRITISH    ANIMALS. 


BRITISH    ANIMALS 

EXTINCT  WITHIN  HISTORIC  TIMES 


WITH     SOME     ACCOUNT 


BRITISH  WILD  WHITE  CATTLE 


BY 


JAMES    EDMUND   HARTING,    F.L.S.,  F.Z.S. 

AUTHOR  OF   "A  HANDBOOK  OF  BRITISH   BIRDS;"  "THE  ORNITHOLOGY 
OF  SHAKESPEARE,"  ETC.  ETC. 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS  BY  J.    WOLF,  C.  WHYMPER> 
R.   W.  SHERWIN,  AND  OTHERS 


BOSTON 

J.    R.    OSGOOD    AND    CO. 

1880 


And  in  yon  wither' d  bracken's  lair, 
Slumbered  the  wolf  and  shaggy  bear ; 
Once  on  that  lone  and  trackless  sod 
High  chiefs  and  mail-clad  warriors  trod, 
And  where  the  roe  her  bed  has  made, 
Their  last  bright  arms  the  vanquish' d  laid. 

The  days  of  old  have  passed  away 
Like  leaves  iipon  the  torrent  grey, 
And  all  their  dreams  of  joy  and  woe, 
As  in  yon  eddy  melts  the  snow ; 
And  soon  as  far  and  dim  behind, 
We  too  shall  vanish  on  the  wind. 

Lays  of  the  Deer  Forest. 


ffL 


PREFACE. 


FEW  who  have  studied  the  literature  of  British 
Zoology  can  have  failed  to  remark  the  gap  which 
exists  between  Owen's  "  British  Fossil  Mammals  and 
Birds,"  and  Bell's  "  British  Quadrupeds  ;"  the  former 
dealing  chiefly  with  prehistoric  remains,  the  latter 
with  species  which  are  still  existing. 

Between  these  two  admirable  works  a  connecting 
link,  as  it  were,  seems  wanting  in  the  shape  of  a 
history  of  such  animals  as  have  become  extinct  in 
Britain  within  historic  times,  and  to  supply  this  is  the 
aim  of  the  present  writer. 

Of  the  materials  collected,  during  many  years  of 
research,  some  portion  has  been  already  utilized  in  a 
Lecture  delivered  by  the  author  before  the  "  Hert- 
fordshire Natural  History  Society,"  in  October,  1879, 
and  in  several  articles  in  the  Popular  Science  Eeview 
and  the  natural  history  columns  of  The  Field. 

The  exigencies  of  time  and  space,  however,  neces- 

*  Popular  Science  Eeview,  1878,  pp.  53, 141,  251,  396;  and  The  Field, 
^879  :  Sept.  27 ;  Oct.  4,  1 1  ;  Nov.  i,  8,  29 ;  Dec.  20  and  27. 


vi  PREFACE. 

sitated  a  much  briefer  treatment  of  the  subject  in  the 
journals  referred  to  than  is  here  attempted,  and  to 
these  essays,  now  presented  to  the  reader  in  a  con- 
solidated form,  considerable  additions  have  been 
made. 

That  the  subject  admits  of  still  further  amplifica- 
tion the  author  is  well  aware  ;  but^"  ars  long  a  vita 
brevis  est"  and  the  materials  at  present  collected 
have  already  assumed  such  dimensions,  that  it  has 
been  deemed  preferable  to  offer  them  to  the  reader 
in  their  present  form,  rather  than  postpone  publica- 
tion indefinitely,  in  the  hope  of  some  day  realizing  an 
ideal  state  of  perfection. 

Should  the  present  volume  pave  the  way  for 
future  research  on  the  part  of  others,  the  Author 
will  be  amongst  the  first  to  welcome  the  result  of 
their  labours.  He  has  already  to  acknowledge  his 
indebtedness  to  Dr.  J.  A.  Smith  and  Messrs.  Edward 
Alston,  J.  A.  Harvie  Brown,  and  J.  P.  Hoare,  whose 
taste  in  the  same  line  of  research  has  prompted 
them  to  favour  him  with  several  interesting  commu- 
nications, which  have  been  embodied  in  the  following 
pages ;  while  to  Dr.  Smith  he  is  especially  obliged 
for  the  use  of  four  woodcuts  which  were  prepared 
to  illustrate  papers  of  his  own  in  the  "Proceed- 
ings of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland." 


PREFACE.  vii 

In  regard  to  that  portion  of  the  present  work 
which  treats  of  the  ancient  breed  of  wild  white 
cattle,  it  may  be  thought,  by  some,  a  little  presump- 
tuous on  the  part  of  the  writer  to  deal  with  a  subject 
on  which  an  entire  volume  has  been  so  recently  and 
so  ably  written  by  the  late  Mr.  Storer.  But  it 
should  be  stated  that  almost  all  the  materials  for 
this  portion  of  the  book  were  not  only  collected  long 
before  Mr.  Storer's  work  was  published,  but  were  on 
the  eve  of  being  incorporated  in  an  important  essay 
by  Mr.  Edward  Alston,  which  was  nearly  ready  for 
the  press  when  Mr.  Storer's  volume  appeared. 

ft  would  be  ungenerous,  however,  on  the  part  of 
the  writer  were  he  to  withhold  an  acknowledgment 
of  his  indebtedness  to  Mr.  Storer's  work  for  many 
useful  additions  to  his  own  (each,  in  fact,  containing 
something  which  the  other  had  not),  and  in  particular 
for  several  details  of  the  former  extent  of  ancient 
forests,  which  have  been  embodied  in  the  Intro- 
duction. 


CONTENTS. 


PAET  I. 

FAGX 

INTRODUCTION 3 

THE  BEAK l  j 

THE  BEAVER 33 

*               .     . 
THE  EEIXDEER       6 ! 

THE  WILD  BOAR 79 

THE  WOLF u5 

CONCLUSION 206 

PAET  II. 
WILD  WHITE  CATTLE 213 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

THE  BEAR n 

Fossil  Cranium  of  Bear,  Dumfriesshire 13 

Eecent  Cranium  of  Bear.     Under  Surface      ...15 

Bear  Hunt.     From  an  old  print 18 

Anglo-Saxon  Gleemen's  Bear  Dance 20 

Bear-baiting.  From  a  carved  seat  of  the  I4th  century     25 

THE  BEAVER 33 

Cranium  from  the  English  Fens.     Upper  Surface   .     44 

The  same.     Under  Surface 45 

Lower  Jaw  of  Beaver  from  the  English  Fens  .  .  51 
A  Beaver  at  work 60 

THE  EEINDEER 61 

Fragments  of  Eeindeer's  Horn,  from  Caithness  .  .71 
Antler  of  Keindeer,  from  Orkney 75 

THE  WILD  BOAR 77 

Wild  Boar  Hunting.  From  a  MS.  of  the  9th  century  79 
Spearing  a  Boar.  From  a  MS.  of  the  I4th  century  85 

Skull  of  Wild  Boar 86 

Tracking  a  Wild  Boar.  Sixteenth  century  .  .  .103 
Group  of  Wild  Boars,  from  a  carved  horn  .  ,  .  .109 
The  Boar's 'Head,  Eastcheap 1 1 1 

THE  WOLF 115 

Skull  of  Wolf 117 

Cranium  of  Wolf.     Upper  Surface 120 

Cranium  of  Wolf.     Under  Surface 121 

Teeth  of  Wolf.     Natural  Size 123 

Wolf  hunt.     Sixteenth  century " 151 

Irish  Wolf-hound 188 

Ancient  Hunting  Horn 205 

TheKelay 209 

WILD  WHITE  CATTLE 213 

Skull  of  Wild  Ox,  Fifeshire 216 

Skull  of  Wild  Ox,  Lancashire 217 

Coin  of  Cunobelin,  with  Wild  Ox  on  reverse  ,     .     .219 

*    Wild  Bull  of  Chartley 231 

Wild  Bull  of  ChiUingham 233 


EXTINCT   BRITISH   ANIMALS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

THE  interest  which  attaches  to  the  history  of 
extinct  British  animals  can  only  be  equalled  by  the 
regret  which  must  be  felt,  by  all  true  naturalists,  at 
their  disappearance  beyond  recall  from  our  fauna. 

It  is  a  curious  reflection  at  the  present  day,  as  we 
pass  over  some  of  the  wilder  parts  of  the  country, 
that  at  one  time  these  same  moors  and  woods  and 
glens,  which  we  now  traverse  so  securely,  were 
infested  to  such  an  extent  with  ferocious  animals, 
that  a  journey  of  any  length  was,  on  this  account, 
attended  with  considerable  danger.  Packs  of 
wolves,  which  usually  issued  forth  at  night  to 
ravage  the  herdsman's  flocks,  were  ever  ready  to 
attack  the  solitary  herdsman,  or  unwary  traveller  on 
foot,  who  might  venture  to  pass  within  reach  of  their 
hiding-places.  In  the  oak  woods  and  amongst  the 
reed-beds  which  fringed  the  meres,  wild-boars 
lurked  while  munching  their  store  of  acorns,  or 
wallowing,  as  is  their  wont,  in  lacustrine  mire,  while 
they  searched  for  the  palatable  roots  of  aquatic 


4  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

plants.  Many  a  traveller  then  had  cause  to  rue  the- 
sudden  and  -unexpected  rush  of  some  grand  old 
patriarch  of  the  "  sownder,"  who,  with  gnashing 
tusks,  charged  out  upon  the  invader  of  his  domain,, 
occasionally  unhorsing  him,  and  not  unfrequently 
inflicting  severe  injuries  upon  his  steed.  In  the 
wilder  recesses  of  the  forest,  and  amongst  the  caves 
and  boulders  of  the  mountain  side,  the  bear,  too, 
had  his  stronghold,  and  though  exterminated  at  a 
much  earlier  period,  long  co- existed  with  the  animals 
we  have  named ;  while  in  a  few  favoured  localities 
in  the  west  and  north,  the  harmless,  inoffensive 
beaver  built  its  dam,  and  dived  in  timid  haste  at  the 
approach  of  an  intruder. 

At  the  present  day  it  is  difficult  to  realize  such  a 
state  of  things,  unless  we  consider  at  the  same  time 
the  aspect  and  condition  of  the  country  in  which 
these  animals  lived,  and  the  remarkable  physical 
changes  which  have  since  taken  place.  Nothing 
we  have  now  left  can  give  us  any  idea  of  the 
state  of  things  then ;  not  the  moors  of  North 
Derbyshire,  West  Yorkshire,  and  Lancashire,  the 
wild  wastes  of  Westmoreland,  Cumberland,  and 
Northumberland,  nor  even  the  extensive  deer-forests 
and  moors  of  the  Scottish  Highlands  ;  for  the  pathless 
woods  which  then  covered  a  great  part  of  these  dis- 
tricts are  all  gone,  and  so  also  are  the  thick  forests 
which,  outside  of  but  connected  with  them,  skirted 
these  higher  grounds.  The  advance  of  man  and  the 
progress  of  cultivation  has  destroyed  most  of  these 
wild  woods,  but  it  was  not  so  in  late  Saxon  and  in 


INTRODUCTION.  5 

early  Norman  times.  Even  in  the  less  hilly  districts 
more  than  half  the  country  was  one  vast  forest,  and 
in  the  north  at  least  these  forests  flanked  the  moun- 
tain ranges,  extending  their  wild  influence,  and  at 
the  same  time  rendering  them  more  inaccessible  and 
wilder  still. 

Between  the  tenth  and  twelfth  centuries,  great 
forests  came  up  almost  to  the  gates  of  London.  In 
a  curious  tract  entitled  "Descriptio  nobilissimce  civi- 
tatis  Londoniw"  written  by  Fitz-Stephen,  a  monk  of 
Canterbury,  in  1174,  it  is  stated  that  there  were 
open  meadows  of  pasture  lands  on  the  north  of  the 
City,  and  that  beyond  these  was  a  great  forest,  in 
whose  woody  coverts  lurked  the  stag,  the  hind,  the 
wild-boar,  and  the  bull. 

Two-thirds,  or  nearly,  of  the  county  of  Stafford 
was,  even  in  relatively  modern  times,  either  moorland 
or  woodland.  The  northern  part,  going  nearly  up  to 
Buxton,  was  moorland  ;  the  central  and  eastern  part 
forest.  Harwood,  in  his  edition  of  Erdeswick's 
"  Survey  of  Staffordshire,"  quoting  Sir  Simon  Degge, 
says  :  "  The  moorlands  are  the  more  northerly 
mountainous  part  of  the  country  lying  betwixt  Dove 
and  Trent ;  the  woodlands  are  the  more  southerly 
level  part  of  the  country.  Between  the  aforesaid 
rivers,  including  Needwood  Forest,  with  all  its 
parks,  are  also  the  parks  of  Wichnor,  Chartley,  Hore- 
cross,  Bagots,  Loxley,  and  Paynesley,  which  anciently 
were  all  but  as  one  wood,  that  gave  it  the  name 
of  woodlands."  Leland,  about  1536,  though  he 
speaks  of  the  woods  being  then  much  reduced,  con- 

B  2 


6  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

firms  this,  and  even  carries  this  country  of  woods 
farther  south.  He  says  :  "  Of  ancient  tyme  all  the 
quarters  of  the  country  about  Lichefeild  were  forrest 
and  wild  ground."*  That  would  bring  the  Stafford- 
shire woodlands  close  up  to  the  purlieus  of  Charn- 
wood  Forest,  in  Leicestershire.  Nor  is  this  all ; 
for  about  three  miles  north-west  of  Lichfield  com- 
mences Cannock  Chase,  with  its  parks  as  numerous 
and  extensive  as  those  of  Needwood,  from  which  it 
was  separated  only  by  the  River  Trent.  This  chase, 
even  at  a  comparatively  recent  period,  was  "  said  to 
contain  36,000  acres,"  while  "  in  Queen  Elizabeth's 
time  Needwood  Forest  was  twenty-four  miles  in 
circumference. "  t 

The  mountainous  and  moorland  district  to  the 
north  of  Staffordshire,  as  many  names  of  places  still 
indicate,  was  also  heavily  wooded  at  one  time,  and 
contains,  near  its  riorthern  extremity,  the  singular 
defile  of  rocks  and  caverns  locally  called  Ludchurch, 
said  to  have  been  the  scene  of  Friar  Tuck's  ministra- 
tions to  Robin  Hood  and  his  merry  men.]:  This 
part  of  Staffordshire,  bounded  by  the  river  Dove  on 
its  eastern  side,  and  on  the  west  passing  close  to 
Congleton  in  Cheshire,  and  another  ancient  forest 
known  as  Maxwell  forest,  runs  like  a  wedge  near 
Buxton  into  that  wild  country  where  the  great 

*  Leland,  "  Itinerary,"  ed.  Hearne,  vol.  iv.  p.  1 14. 

t  Erdeswick,  "  Survey  of  Staffordshire,"  ed.  Harwood,  pp.  192, 
279.  These  were  both  celebrated  for  their  oaks  and  hollies :  those  in 
Needwood  alone,  in  1658,  when  it  had  been  much  reduced  in  extent 
and  denuded  of  its  timber,  being  valued  at  30,710?. 

I  Storer,  "  Wild  Cattle  of  Great  Britain,"  p.  65. 


INTRODUCTION.  ^ 

forest  of  Macclesfield,  the  Peak  forest,  and  the  high 
Derbyshire  moors  uniting  together  constitute  "  that 
mountainous  and  large  featured  district  which  in 
ancient  times  had  been  well  timbered  and  formed 
part  of  the  great  midland  forest  of  England.*  And 
a  part  only  ;  for  we  have  seen  that  this  midland 
forest  district,  of  which  the  Peak  was  the  centre, 
included  towards  the  south  the  greater  part  of 
Staffordshire,  while  towards  the  east  an  imaginary 
line  only  separated  it  from  the  mighty  forest  of 
Sherwood.  From  Nottingham  to  Manchester  was 
one  continuous  forest,  and  far  into  Yorkshire  the 
great  moor  extended  to  join  other  and  more  northern 
forests  there.  From  the  Peak  northwards,  through- 
out West  Yorkshire  and  East  Lancashire,  the  forests, 
moors,  and  mosses  connected  with  this  mountain 
range  were  immense.t  Some  idea  of  their  extent 
may  be  gathered  from  the  remarks  of  the  learned  Dr. 
Whitaker,  who,  describing  Whalley,  in  Lancashire,  in 
late  Saxon  and  early  Norman  times,  says  : — "  If,  ex- 
cluding the  forest  of  Bowland,  we  take  the  parish  of 
Whalley  at  a  square  of  1 6 1  miles,  from  this  sum  at 
least  70  miles,  or  27,657  acres,  must  be  deducted  for 
the  four  forests,  or  chaces,  of  Blackburnshire,  which 
belonged  to  no  township  or  manor,  but  were  at  that 
time  mere  derelicts,  and  therefore  claimed,  as 
heretofore  unappropriated,  by  the  first  Norman  lords. 
There  will  therefore  remain  for  the  different  manors 
and  townships  36,000  acres  or  thereabouts,  of  which 
3,520,  or  not  quite  a  tenth  part,  was  in  a  state  of 
*  Robertson,  "Buxton  and  the  Peak,"  p.  41.  f  Storer,  p.  66. 


8  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

cultivation;  while  the  vast  residuum  stretched  far 
and  wide,  like  an  ocean  of  waste  interspersed  with 
a  few  inhabited  islands."*  Let  us  try  to  realize  the 
state  of  things,  when  out  of  63,657  acres  of  land, 
over  60,000  were  either  forests  or  waste,  and  nearly 
half  of  that  amount  unclaimed  and  unappropriated, 
while  close  at  hand  towards  the  north  was  the  still 
larger  and  wilder  forest  of  Bowland,  so  admirably 
described  by  Whitaker,  and  towards  the  south  that 
of  Rosendale  with  an  amazing  range  of  moors  beyond 
it.  But  this  statement  only  shows  how  the  great 
central  range  was  covered  and  fringed  with  wastes 
and  forests  on  its  western  side.  On  the  eastern  side 
in  the  same  neighbourhood,  the  country  of  Craven, 
it  was  just  the  same  even  so  lately  as  the  time  of 
Henry  VIII.  Leland  says  : — "  The  forest,  from  a 
mile  beneth  Gnaresborough  to  very  nigh  Bolton 
yn  Craven  is  about  twenty  miles  in  length ;  and  in 
bredeth  it  is  in  sum  places  an  viii  miles  ;"  the  whole 
intermediate  district  between  Bolton  and  Bowland 
forest,  or  between  it  and  Whalley,  being  about  as  wild 
as  anything  can  be.  In  the  north  of  England  the 
same  state  of  things  prevailed,  often  on  an  even 
larger  scale ;  one  forest  alone  in  Cumberland,  and 
that  not  in  its  wildest  part,  being  described  in  "  The 
Chartulary  of  Lanercost  Priory  "  as  extending  at 
the  time  of  the  Norman  Conquest  from  Carlisle  to 
Penrith,  a  distance  of  eighteen  miles,  and  as  "a 
goodly  forest,  full  of  woods,  red-deer  and  fallow,  wild 
swine,  and  all  manner  of  wild  beasts." 

*  Whitaker,  "History  of  Whalley,"  p.  171. 


INTR  OD  UCTION.  9 

As  for  Scotland,  we  can  scarcely  over-estimate  the 
wildness  that  everywhere  prevailed,  when  in  the 
•south  a  vast  forest  filled  the  intervening  space 
between  Chillingham  and  Hamilton,  a  distance,  as 
the  crow  flies,  of  about  eighty  miles,  including  within 
it  Ettrick  and  numerous  other  forests  ;*  and  further 
north  the  great  Caledonian  wood,  known  even  at 
Rome,  covered  the  greater  part  of  both  the  Low- 
lands and  Highlands,  its  recesses  affording  shelter  at 
one  time  to  bears,  wolves,  wild-boars,  and  wild  white 
cattle. 

Enough,  perhaps,  has  been  here  advanced  to  show 
that  the  whole  of  this  immense  range  of  mountains 
and  hills,  with  its  vast  forests  and  wastes,  was  as 
^favourable  a  tract  of  country  for  the  preservation  of 
aboriginal  wild  animals  as  could  well  be  conceived  ; 
but  for  further  details  of  the  situation  and  former 
extent  of  English  forests  the  reader  may  be  referred 
to  Whitaker's  "  History  of  Manchester"  (Bk.  I. 
P-  337)5  Gilpin's  "Forest  Scenery"  (vol.  ii.),  to 
which  Sir  Thomas  Dick  Lauder,  in  his  edition 
(1834)  has  made  some  valuable  additions;  Scrope's 
"Art  of  Deer  Stalking"  (srd  ed.  1847);  and  Mr. 
Evelyn  Shirley's  "English  Deer  Parks"  (1867). 

To  describe  the  various  modes  of  hunting  in  these 
early  times  would  be  beside  the  purpose  of  the  present 
work,  which  is,  rather,  to  collect  together  evidence, 
geological  and  historical,  of  the  former  existence  here 
of  certain  wild  animals  which  have  become  extinct 
within  historic  times.  On  the  subject  of  hunting, 
*  Storer,  p.  68. 


io  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

then,  we  must  be  brief,  and  will  here  be  content  with 
quoting  the  following  remarks  of  Mr.  Earle  in  his 
edition  of  the  Saxon  Chronicle.       "  Now-a-days,"  he 
says,    "men  hunt  for  exercise  and  sport,  but  then 
they  hunted  for  food,  or  for  the  luxury  of  fresh  meat. 
Now  the  flight  of  the  beast  is  the  condition  of  a  good 
hunt,  but  in  those  days  it  entailed  disappointment. 
They  had  neither  the  means  of  giving  chase  or  of 
killing  them  at  a  distance,  so  they  used  stratagem  to 
bring  the  game  within  the  reach  of  their  missiles. 
A  labyrinth  of  alleys  was  penned  out  at  a  convenient 
part  of  the  wood,  and  here  the  archers  lay  under 
covert.      The  hunt  began  by  sending  men  round  to 
break  and  beat  the  wood,  and  drive  the  game  with 
dogs  and  horns  into  the  ambuscade.     The  pen  is  the 
haia   so   frequently  occurring  amongst  the  silvce  of 
Domesday.  Horns  were  used,  not,  as  with  us,  to  call 
the  dogs,  or,  as  in  France,  to  signal  the  stray  sports- 
man; but  to  scare  the  game.  In  fact  it  was  the  battue, 
which   is   now,    under   altered    circumstances,    dis- 
countenanced by  the  authorities  of  the  chase,  but 
which,  in  early  times,  was  the  only  way  for  man  to 
cope  with  the  beasts  of  the  field."     Such,   at  least, 
was  the  course  usually  adopted.     Particular  animals, 
however,  were  hunted  in  a  particular  manner,  and 
to  some  of  these  modes  we  shall  have  occasion  to 
refer  later. 


II 


THE    BEAR 

Ursus  arctos. 

To  treat  first  of  the  earliest  historic  species  which 
has  died  out,  no  doubt  can  exist  that  the  Brown 
Bear  inhabited  Britain  in  times  of  which  history 
takes  cognisance,  the  few  written  records  which  have 
come  down  to  us  of  its  former  existence  here  being 
supplemented  by  the  best  of  all  evidence,  the  dis- 
covery of  its  remains.  These  have  been  found  in  the 
most  recent  formations  throughout  England,  which 
can  scarcely  be  regarded  as  fossil,  and,  if  not  abso- 


1 2  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

lately  identical  with  those  of  the  Bear  which  still 
exists  in  many  parts  of  the  European  continent  at  all 
events  indicate  only  a  variety.* 

In  Britain,  says  Professor  Boyd  Dawkins,  the  Bear 
survived  those  changes  which  exterminated  the  cha- 
racteristic post-glacial  mammalia,  and  is  found  in 
the  prehistoric  deposits  both  in  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  and  is  of  considerable  interest,  because  it  is 
the  largest  of  the  post-glacial  carnivores  which  can  be 
brought  into  relation  with  our  history.  A  nearly 
perfect  skull  from  the  marl  below  the  peat  in  Manea 
Fen,  Cambridgeshire,  and  now  in  the  Woodwardian 
Museum,  Cambridge,  has  been  described  and  figured 
by  Professor  Owen,  who  has  also  described  portions 
of  another  skull  from  the  same  locality.  In  1868 
Dr.  Hicks  found  remains  of  the  Brown  Bear  in  peat 
at  St.  Bride's  Bay ;  and  numerous  bones  and  teeth 
of  this  animal  have  been  discovered  at  various  times 
in  Kent's  Cavern,  Devonshire. 

The  exploration  of  the  Victoria  Cave,  near  Settle, 
revealed  the  fact  that  the  Brown  Bear  afforded  food 
to  the  Neolithic  dwellers  in  the  cave,  who  have  left 
the  relics  of  their  feasts  and  a  few  rude  implements 
at  the  lowest  horizon ;  the  broken  bones  and  jaws 
of  this  animal  lying  mixed  up  with  the  remains  of 
the  Bed-deer,  Horse,  and  Celtic  Shorthorn.t 

Nor  are  we  without  direct  testimony  that  the 
Bear  was  killed  by  the  hand  of  man  during  the 
Roman  occupation  of  Britain.  In  the  collection  of 

*  Owen,  "  British  Fossil  Mammals,"  p.  78. 

f  Boyd  Dawkins,  Pop.  Sci.  Review,  1861,  p.  247. 


THE  BEAR.  13 

bones  from  the  "  refuse  heaps"  round  Colchester 
made  by  Dr.  Bree,  the  remains  of  this  animal  were 
found  along  with  those  of  the  Badger,  Wolf,  Celtic 
Shorthorn,  and  Goat.  Professor  Boyd  Dawkins  has 
also  met  with  it  in  a  similar  "  refuse  heap"  at  Rich- 
mond, in  Yorkshire,  which  is  most  probably  of 
Roman  origin. 


CUAXIUM   OF  BROWN    BEAK,   DUMFRIESSHIRE. 

Dr.  J.  A.  Smith  has  described  and  figured^  the 
skull  of  a  large  Bear  which  was  found  with  a  rib  of 
the  same  animal  in  a  semi-fossil  condition  at  Shaws, 
in  Dumfriesshire,  in  peat  moss  lying  on  marl,  among 
the  most  recent  of  all  our  formations,  associated 
moreover  with  the  Red-deer,  Roe-buck,  Urus,  and 
Reindeer  ;  the  skull  being  that  of  a  large  adult 
animal  of  great  size  and  strength,  f  Strange  to  say, 
these  are  the  only  remains  of  the  Bear  which  have 
yet  been  discovered  in  Scotland. 

As  regards  Ireland,  some  doubt  seems  to  exist  in 
the  minds  of  palaeontologists  whether  any  of  the 
ursine  remains  discovered  there  are  referable  to 

*  "  Proc.  Soc.  Antiq.  Scotland,"  vol.  xiii.  p.  360  (1879). 
f  For  permission  to    copy  the  figure  of  this  skull  the  author  is 
indebted  to  Dr.  J.  A.  Smith  and  the  Society  above  referred  to. 


14  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

Ursus  arctos*  Dr.  Leith  Adams,  writing  on  '  Recent 
and  Extinct  Irish  Mammals'  ("Proc.  Roy.  Dublin 
Soc.,"  1878),  has  very  fully  described  several  skulls 
and  other  portions  of  ursine  skeletons  exhumed  in 
Leitrim,  Longford,  Westmeath,  King's  County, 
Kildare,  Waterford,  and  Limerick,  and  after  com- 
paring them  with  similar  bones  of  Ursus  spclceus, 
U.  fossilis,  U.  ferox,  U.  arctos,  and  U.  maritimus, 
has  arrived  at  the  following  conclusion  : — 

"  A  study  of  the  osteological  characters  of  these 
ursine  remains  which  represent  all  the  authenticated 
instances  of  discoveries  hitherto  recorded  from 
Ireland,  appears  to  me  to  furnish  characters  referable 
only  to  one  species,  which,  on  the  score  of  dimensions 
and  general  features,  is  inseparable  from  the  so-called 
Ursus  fossilis  of  Goldfuss,f  and  at  all  events  from 
the  smaller  Spelean  Bear  found  in  English  and  other 
deposits,  as  distinguished  from  the  larger  congener 
found  also  in  England,  but  more  plentifully  on  the 
continent  of  Europe.  Unless  the  skull  from  Kildare 
represents  the  Ursus  arctos  (and  that,  I  think,  is 
doubtful), J  all  the  others  seem  to  me  to  belong  to 


*  See  Dr.  R.  Ball  on  the  Skulls  of  Bears  found  in  Ireland,  «  Proc. 
Roy.  Irish  Acad.,"  vol.  iv.  p.  416  (1850);  Wilde,  "Proc.  Roy.  Irish 
Acad.,"  vol.  vii.  p.  192  (1862);  Scott,  'Catalogue  of  Mammalian 
Fossils  discovered  in  Ireland,'  "Jour.  Geol.  Soc.  Dublin,"  vol.  x.  p.  144 
(1864) ;  Dr.  Carte,  "Jour.  Geol.  Soc.  Dublin,"  vol.  x.  p.  114  (1864). 

f  The  relationship  between  Ursus  ferox  and  Ursus  arctos  is  very 
close,  not  only  as  regards  fossil  but  also  recent  individuals,  so  much 
so  that  by  external  appearance  only  they  are  indistinguishable. 

J  A  fine  cranium  13^  inches  in  length  was  found  in  cutting  a  new 
channel  for  the  river  Boyne,  in  the  barony  of  Carberry,  co.  Kildare ; 
and  is  of  peculiar  interest  from  its  resemblance  to  the  Pyrenean 
variety  of  Ursus  arctos,  to  which  it  has  been  referred  by  Dr.  Carte. 


THE  BEAR.  15 

the  Ursus  fossilis,  which,  so  far  as  osteological  and 
dental  characters  are  concerned,  would  appear  to 
have  been  the  progenitor  of  the  recent  Ursus  ferox, 
now  repelled  to  Western  North  America.  In  this 
latter  view  I  am  supported  by  the  distinguished 
palaeontologist,  Mr.  Busk,  F.R.S.,  whose  differentia- 
tions, as  regards  several  of  the  Irish  crania,  were 


RECENT   CRANIUM   OP    BEAR.       UNDER   SURFACE.     (£   NAT.   SIZE.) 


made  before  I  commenced  to  study  them.  It  may 
be  said,  therefore,  that  Ursus  ferox,  as  in  England, 
belonged  to  the  prehistoric  fauna,  and  was  a  native 
of  the  island  in  the  days  of  the  Reindeer,  Mammoth, 
Horse,  and  Wolf,  with  which  its  remains  have  been 
found  associated,  as  also  with  exuvia  of  the  Red- 


1 6  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

deer,  Fox,  and  Variable  or  Alpine  Hare ;  and 
although  not  found  along  with  the  Irish  Elk,  it  has 
been  generally  met  with  in  similar  lacustrine  beds. 
It  seems  to  me  that, -as  in  the  neighbouring  island,  if 
the  Brown  Bear  had  ever  been  a  native  of  Ireland,  it 
would,  as  in  Scotland  and  England,  have  come  down 
to  the  historical  period  ;  so  that  the  fact  of  no  notice 
of  its  presence,  and  the  very  emphatic  assertions  or 
silence  of  Bede,  St.  Donatus,*  Giraldus  Cambrensis, 
and  Pennant,  seem  to  me  to  bear  out  the  results  of 
recent  disclosures.  The  probability  is,  therefore, 
that,  like  its  congeners,  all,  excepting  the  Hare  and 
Red-deer,  became  extinct  in  the  island  before  man 
commenced  to  make  records  of  theferce  of  the  country; 
for  it  is  a  remarkable  circumstance  that  in  all  the 
remains  of  Irish  extinct  mammals,  none  present 
the  fragmentary  characters  afforded  by  the  cavern 
deposits  of  the  sister  island  ;  thus  showing  on  the  one 
hand,  that  they  had  not  been  destroyed  by  man,  nor 
by  the  bone-crunching  hyaena,  but  that  they  met 
their  deaths,  for  the  most  part,  through  natural 
causes  and  accidents." 

The  Welsh  Triads,  some  of  which  are  supposed  to 
have  been  compiled  in  the  ninth  century,  but  most 
of  which  are  of  a  much  later  date,f  say  that  "  the 
Kymry,  a  Celtic  tribe,  first  inhabited  Britain ;  before 
them  were  no  men  there,  but  only  bears,  wolves, 
beavers,  and  oxen  with  high  prominences." 

*  In  Ireland,  according  to  St.  Donatus,  who  died  in  840,  the  Bear 
was  not  indigenous :  "  ursorwn  rabies  nulla  est  ibi," 

f  See  Stephens,  "  Literature  of  the  Kymry,"  p.  427  (ed.  1876),  and 
Appendix. 


THE  BEAR.  17 

Many  places  in  Wales,  says  Pennant,  still  re- 
tain the  name  of  Penarth,  or  "  the  bear  s  head," 
another  evidence  of  their  former  existence  in  our 
country.* 

Our  illustrious  countryman,  John  Ray,  in  his 
"  Synopsis  Methodica  Animalium"  (a  small  octavo 
volume,  published  in  1693),  tells  us  (pp.  213,  214) 
that  his  friend  Mr.  Edward  Llwyd,  in  an  old  Welsh 
MS.  on  British  laws  and  customs,  discovered  cer- 
tain statutes  and  regulations  relating  to  hunting, 
from  which  it  appeared  that  the  Bear  was  formerly 
reckoned  amongst  the  beasts  of  chase  (E  novem  guce 
venantur  ferarum  genenbus  fria  tantum  lafrabilia  t 
csse,  ursum,  scandentia,\  et  phasianum,  and  its 
flesh  was  esteemed  equally  with  that  of  the  Hare 
and  the  Wild  Boar  :  "  Summam  sen  prcecipuce  cestima- 
tionis  ferinam  esse,  ursi,  leporis  et  qpri."§ 

*  "British  Zoology,"  vol.  i.  p.  91  (ed.  1812). 

t  Latrabilia,  "  baitable  animals."  The  term  is  thus  explained  by 
Ray  (op.  cit.)  :  "  Ursus  fera  latralilis  [baitable]  dicitur,  quia  cum 
tardigradus  sit,  nee  velociter  currere  possit,  canea  eum  facile  asse- 
quuntur,  contra  quos  deinde  corpore  in  clunes  erecto  aliquandiu  se 
defendit ;  canes  autem  initio  timidi  nee  propius  accedere  aut  eum 
allatrant  antequam  aggrediantur  et  occidant."  See  also  Stuart, 
"  Lays  of  the  Deer  Forest,"  vol.  ii.  p.  441. 

J  Scandentia,  sc., "  climbers,"  the  marten  and  wild  cat,  perhaps  also 
the  squirrel.  The  mention  of  the  pheasant  here  is  remarkable,  and 
we  should  be  curious  to  discover  the  date  of  this  MS.,  if  still  preserved, 
and  the  Welsh  equivalent,  in  Llwyd'a  opinion,  for  "  phasianum."  We 
know  from  another  source  (a  MS.  dated  about  1177)  that  this  bird 
was  to  be  found  here  in  1059,  since  it  is  included  in  a  bilj  of  fare  of 
that  date  prescribed  by  Harold  for  the  household  of  the  canons  at 
Waltham  Abbey.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  whether  the  Welsh 
MS.  referred  to  was  an  earlier  document  or  otherwise. 

§  In  "  a  letter  (dated  Sept.  14,  1696)  from  the  late  Mr.  Edward 
Llwyd,  Keeper  of  the  Ashmolean  Museum  in  Oxford,  to  Dr.  Tancred 
Robinson,  F.R.S.,  containing  several  observations  in  Natural  History, 


1 8  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

Of  the  ancient  British  methods  of  hunting  the 
Bear,  we  are  but  imperfectly  informed.  We  learn, 
however,  from  rude  descriptions  and  ruder  figurings, 
that  he  was  watched  to  his  couch,  or  was  traced  to 
his  winter  retirement,  when  arrows,  pikes,  clubs, 
javelins,  and  long  knives,  were  used  against  him  ;  he 
was  also  occasionally  betrayed  into  a  pitfall.  In 


BEA.B,  HUNT.      FROM   AN   OLD   PRINT   IN   POSSESSION   OF  THE  AUTHOR. 

later  times  the  Bear  was  trailed  with  boar-hounds, 
and  despatched  by  the  spear  or  knife  of  the  hunter, 

made  in  his  travels  through  Wales  "  ("Phil.  Trans.,"  vol.xxvii.p.462), 
the  writer  observes  : — 

"  Sir  William  Williams  hath  several  Welsh  MSS.  (tho'  I  think 
no  dictionary)  that  woxild  be  of  use  to  me ;  but  his  son  tells  me  he's 
resolv'd  never  to  lend  any.  They  are  chiefly  modern  copies  out  of 
Hengwrt  Study  in  Meirionydhsliire,  which  I  am  promis'd  free  access 
to  ;  and  have  this  time  taken  a  Catalogue  of  all  the  ancient  MSS.  it 
contains.  There  are  the  works  of  Taliefyn,  Aneuryn  gwawdydh, 
Myrdhyn  ab  Morvryn  and  Kygod'to  Elaeth,  who  lived  in  the  fifth  and 


THE  BEAR.  19 

as  the  animal  rose  to  grapple  with  the  dogs,  or  with 
their  master.  Bear  hunting  must  have  been  always 
a  dangerous  sport,  in  this  respect  and  if  ever  the 
great  Cave  Bear  was  an  object  of  the  hunters'  attack, 
the  boar-hunt  of  Calydon,  as  described  by  Ovid, 
could  alone  have  furnished  a  parallel. 

That  bears  were  to  be  found  in  Britain  during  the 
eighth  century  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that 
in  the  "  Penitentiale"  of  Archbishop  Egbert,  drawn 
up  about  A.D.  750,  it  is  laid  down  (lib.  iv.)  that  "  if 
any  one  shall  hit  a  deer  or  other  animal  with  an  arrow, 
and  it  escapes  and  is  found  dead  three  days  afterwards, 
and  if  a  dog,  a  wolf,  a  fox,  or  a  bear,  or  any  other  wild 
beast  hath  begun  to  feed  upon  it,  no  Christian  shall 
touch  it."* 

In  the  time  of  Edward  the  Confessor,  as  we  learn 
from  "  Domesday/'  the  town  of  Norwich  furnished 
annually  one  Bear  to  the  king,  and  six  dogs  for  the 
baiting  of  it.t 

Baiting  wild  animals  was  a  favourite  pastime  with 

sixth  centuries  (but  the  small  MS.containingthem  all  seemstohave  been 
copied  about  500  years  ago),  as  also  of  several  others  valuable  in  their 
kind."  In  a  subsequent  letter  to  Dr.  Robinson,  dated  Lhan  Dyvodog, 
Glamorganshire,  Sept.  22,  1697,  he  says  : — "  I  had  no  sooner  received 
your  last  but  was  forced  to  retire  in  a  hurry  to  the  mountainous  parts 
of  this  county,  in  order  to  copy  out  a  large  Welsh  MS.  which  the 
owner  was  not  willing  to  spare  above  two  or  three  days,  and  that  in 
his  neighbourhood.  It  was  written  on  vellum  about  300  years  since, 
and  contained  a  collection  of  most  of  the  ancient  writers  mentioned  by 
Dr.  Davies  at  the  end  of  the  Welsh  dictionary.  So  I  thought  it 
better  trespassing  on  the  gentleman's  patience  that  lent  it,  than  lose 
such  an  opportunity  as  perhaps  will  not  occur  again  in  my  travels. 
This  is  the  occasion  of  my  long  silence — the  transcribing  of  that  book 
taking  up  two  months  of  our  time." 

*  Migne,  "  Patrologiaa  Cursus  Completus,"  torn.  Ixxxix.  p.  426. 

t  Gale,  vol.  i.  p.  777  ;  Blount,  "  Ancient  Tenures,"  p.  315  (ed.  1815). 


20 


EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 


the  Romans  and  their  imitators,  the  Roman  Britons. 
And  as  amphitheatres  were  constructed  of  squared 
stone,  and  in  a  magnificent  style  for  these  exhibitions 
at  Rome,  so  were  others  erected  here  in  Britain  in  a 
less  pretentious  style  of  architecture,  and  of  the 
humbler  materials  of  clay,  chalk,  gravel,  and  turf. 
Such  are  the  great  amphitheatres  at  Silchester  and 
Dorchester,  once  extending  in  several  rows  of  seats, 


ANGLO-SAXON    GLEEMEN  S   BEAK   DANCE.      TENTH   CENTURY. 

and  still  including  an  arena  of  nearly  two  hundred 
yards  in  circumference.* 

In  all  probability  the  trained  bears  exhibited  by 
the  Anglo-Saxon  Gleemeii  were  native  animals  taken 
young  and  tamed. 

So  far  as  history  informs  us,  it  would  seem  that 
Scotland,  and  more  particularly  the  great  Cale- 
donian forest,  was  the  chief  stronghold  of  our  British 
Bishop  Leslie  says  that  that  great  wood  was 

*  "Itin.  Cur.,"  pp.  155-170;  "Phil.  Trans."  1748,  p.  603. 


THE  BEAR.  21 

once  "  refertissimam"  full  of  them.*  Cainden,  too, 
writing  of  Perthshire,  observes  :  "  This  Athole  is 
a  country  fruitful  enough,  having  woody  vallies, 
where  once  the  Caledonian  forest  (dreadful  for  its 
dark  intricate  windings  and  for  its  dens  of  Bears,  and 
its  huge  wild  thick-maned  bulls)  extended  itself  far 
and  near  in  these  parts,  "t 

After  the  occupation  of  Britain  by  the  Romans, 
Caledonian  Bears  seem  to  have  been  perfectly  well 
known  in  Rome.  We  learn  from  Martial  that  they 
were  used  for  the  purpose  of  tormenting  male- 
factors, of  which  we  have  an  instance  in  the  fate 
of  Laureolus :  \ 

Nuda  Caledonio  sic  pectora  praebuit  urso, 
Non  falsa  pendens  in  cruce,  Laureolus. 

Which  may  be  Englished  : 

Thus  Laureolus,  on  no  ideal  cross  suspended, 
Presents  his  nude  body  to  the  Caledonian  bear. 

Camden,  quoting  Plutarch,  assures  us  "  that  they 
transported  Bears  from  Britain  to  Borne,  where  they 
held  them  in  great  admiration. "§  How  these  Bears 
were  captured,  and  in  what  way  they  were  trans- 
ported to  the  coast  and  shipped  on  board  the  Roman 

*  "De  origine,  moribns,  &c.,  Scotorum,"  1578. 

f  "  Britannia,"  ed.  Gibson,  vol.  ii.  p.  293 ;  ed.  Phil.  Holland,  ii. 
p.  40.  See  also  "  Old  Statist.  Ace.  ScotL,"  vol.  xii.  p.  449  (1794). 

J  Martial,  "  De  Spect.,"  vii.  3,  4. 

§  Camden,  ed.  Holland,  ii.  p.  31.  Gough,  in  his  edition  (vol.  iii. 
p.  367),  says  that  neither  he  nor  Pennant  could  discover  the  passage 
referred  to,  nor  have  we  been  more  successful.  The  passage  from 
Martial,  however,  is  thus  commented  on  in  the  Delphin  edition: — 
"  Caledonia,  regio  Britannia,  ubi  sylvas  densissimco  undf  scevi  ttrsi 
Romam  mittelantur," 

C  2 


22  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

galleys,  must,  we  fear,  for  ever  remain  matters  for 
speculation,  We  do  not  even  know  the  precise 
period  at  which  these  very  hazardous  consignments 
were  made  ;  but  it  may  be  assumed  to  have  been 
probably  about  the  same  time  that  Wolf-dogs  were 
being  exported  to  Rome,  which  we  know  was  about 
the  latter  end  of  the  fourth  century,  A  Roman 
consul  of  that  day,  Symmachus  by  name,  writing  to 
his  brother  Flavinus  over  here,  thanks  him  for  a 
present  he  made  him  of  some  dogs  which  he  calls 
Canes  Scotici,  and  which  were  shown  at  the  Circen- 
sian  games,  to  the  great  astonishment  of  the  people, 
who  could  not  believe  it  possible  to  bring  them  to 
Rome  otherwise  than  in  iron  cages.  It  was  no  doubt 
in  iron  cages  that  the  Bears  were  transported. 

Some  commentators  have  supposed  that  the  dogs 
here  referred  to  were  English  mastiffs  ;  but  it  may 
be  remarked  that  for  some  time  before  Symmachus 
lived,  and  for  many  centuries  after,  Ireland  was  well 
known  by  the  name  of  Scotia,  and  the  appellation 
"  Canes  Scotici,"  while  inapplicable  to  English 
mastiffs,  would  be  appropriate  to  Irish  wolf-hounds. 
Moreover,  the  dogs  upon  which  the  highest  value 
was  always  set  in  former  times  were  those  which 
were  of  use  for  the  chase  of  wild  animals,  and  we 
know  from  various  sources  that  Wolf-dogs  were  held 
in  such  esteem  as  to  be  considered  worthy  the 
acceptance  of  monarchs,  and  were  frequently  sent 
abroad  as  presents  to  foreign  potentates.* 

*  See  an  article  by  the  writer,  on  the  Irish  Wolf-dog,  in  Baily's 
Magazine  for  September,  1879. 


THE  BEAR.  23 

As  regards  the  former  existence  of  Bears  in  the 
Highlands,  a  shadow  of  their  memory,  says  Stuart  * 
is  preserved  in  their  Gaelic  name,  Magh-Ghamhainn;^ 
and  the  traditions  of  some  remote  districts  which 
retain  obscure  allusions  to  a  rough,  dark,  grisly 
monster,  the  terror  of  the  winter's  tale,  and  the 
origin  of  some  obsolete  names,  in  the  depths  of  the 
forest  and  the  dens  of  the  hill.  {  Hence  Ruigh-na- 
beistc,  the  monster's  slope,  Loch-na-beiste,  the  monster's 
lake  ;  for  beist  in  Gaelic  signifies  generally,  not,  as 
might  be  inferred  from  its  similarity  to  the  English 
word,  a  mere  animal  (which  is  beathach,  or  ainmhidh), 
but  something  beyond  an  ordinary  creature,  a  mon- 
ster, a  beast  of  prey.  Thus,  in  the  above  instances, 
r  we  believe  it  to  have  been  derived  from  the  myste- 
rious and  exaggerated  recollection  of  the  last  solitary 
Bear  which  lingered  in  the  deep  recesses  of  the  forest, 
the  terror  of  the  hunter  and  of  the  herdsman. 

Thompson  states  that  although  he  is  not  aware  of 
any  written  evidence  tending  to  show  that  the 
Brown  Bear  was  ever  indigenous  to  Ireland,  a  tradi- 
tion exists  of  its  having  been  so.  It  is  associated 
with  the  Wolf  as  a  native  animal  in  the  stories  handed 
down  through  several  generations  to  the  present 

*  "Lays  of  the  Deer  Forest,"  ii.  p.  215. 

f  Literally  "  the  paw-calf,"  from  mag,  a  paw,  and  ghamainn,  a 
yearling  calf.  The  name  is  now  often  corrupted  into  matli-ghamainn 
the  calf  of  the  plain,  which  has  no  meaning,  for  bears  are  not 
characteristically  inhabitants  of  plains  ;  but  the  implied  allusion  to 
the  size  and  colour  of  a  calf,  with  the  distinction  of  the  paw,  is 
descriptive  of  the  beast. 

J  Traditions  of  this  kind  will  be  found  in  the  story  of  '  The  Brown 
Bear  of  the  Green  Glen,'  related  in  Campbell's  "Popular  Tales  of  the 
West  Highlands,"  vol.  i.  pp.  164-170. 


24  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

time."""  Sir  William  Wilde  asserts  that  he  discovered 
an  Irish  name  for  the  Bear  in  an  old  glossary  in  the 
library  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin  ;  and  it  is  remark- 
able that  the  name  to  which  he  refers,  "  maghgham- 
hainn"  (corrupted  into  "  math-ghamhainn,"  which, 
as  already  explained,  conveys  a  different  signification), 
is  identical  with  the  Gaelic  name  for  the  animal  still 
preserved  in  traditions  of  the  Highlands. 

When  the  Bear  became  extinct  in  Britain  is  un- 
certain. Prof.  Boyd  Dawkins  thinks  it  must  have 
been  extirpated  probably  before  the  tenth  century,  t 
The  stoiy  quoted  by  Pennant j  from  a  history  of  the 
Gordon  family,  §  to  the  effect  that  in  1057  a  Gordon, 
in  reward  for  his  valour  in  killing  a  fierce  Bear,  was 
directed  by  the  king  to  carry  three  Bears'  heads  on 
his  banner,  is  altogether  a  fallacy.  Reference  to  a 
copy  of  the  original  Latin  MS.  from  which  the 
translation  quoted  by  Pennant  was  made  (preserved 
in  the  Advocates'  Library,  Edinburgh)  shows  that  the 
animal  killed  was  a  Boar,  "  immanem  aprum.''  More- 
over, the  arms  of  the  Gordons  happen  to  be  Boars', 
not  Bears'  heads.  The  difference  of  one  letter  only 
in  the  name  might  easily  account  for  a  mistake 
which  has  been  since  blindly  copied  by  many  writers. 
As  our  ancestors,  says  Jamieson,  called  the  boar 
bare,  by  a  curious  inversion  the  bear  is  universally 
denominated  by  the  vulgar  a  boar. 

*  "  Nat.  Hist.  Ireland,"  vol.  iv.  p.  33. 
f  "  Cave  Hunting,"  p.  75. 
J  "British  Zoology,"  vol.  i.  p.  91  (ed.  1812). 

§  "  The  History   of  the  Ancient,  Noble,   and  Illustrious  Family  of 
Gordon."   By  William  Gordon,  of  Old  Aberdeen.  2  vola.,  Edinb.,  1726. 


THE  BEAR.  25 

Col.  Thornton,  in  his  "  Sporting  Tour  through  the 
Northern  parts  of  England  and  the  Highlands  of 
Scotland  "  (1804),  states  that  on  the  island  of  Inch- 
merin,  which  is  the  largest  island  in  Loch  Lomond, 
being  nearly  two  miles  in  circumference,  beautifully 
Avooded  and  well  stocked  with  deer,  Lord  Graham 
had  turned  out  a  few  wild  Bears.  Whether  this  is  a 
misprint  for  Boars,  we  have  no  means  of  knowing,  but 
from  the  employment  of  the  adjective  "wild,"  this  is 
probable,  or  he  may  have  been  misled  by  the  Scottish 
pronunciation  referred  to  by  Jamieson. 

When  native  Bears  no  longer  existed,  our  ancestors 
imported  foreign  ones  for  a  purpose  that  does  no 
credit  to  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  times. 


BEAK-BAITING.      PROM   A   CARVED   SEAT   OF   THE   FOURTEENTH   CENTURY, 
IN   GLOUCESTER   CATHEDRAL. 

"  Bear-baiting"  in  all   its  cruelty  was   a  favourite 
pastime  with  our  forefathers. 

Fitz-Stephen,  who  lived  in  the  reign  of  Henry  II., 
tells  us  that  in  the  forenoon  of  every  holiday  during 
the  winter  season  the  young  Londoners  were  amused 
with  Boars  opposed  to  each  other  in  battle,  or  with 
Bulls  and  full-grown  Bears  baited  by  dogs.  There 
were  several  places  in  the  vicinity  of  the  metropolis 
set  apart  for  the  baiting  of  beasts,  and  especially  the 


26  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

district  of  St.  Saviour's  parish  in  Southwark,  called 
Paris  Garden,  which  contained  two  Bear-gardens, 
said  to  have  been  the  first  that  were  made  near 
London.  In  these,  according  to  Stow,  were  scaffolds 
for  the  spectators  to  stand  upon — an  indulgence  for 
which  they  paid  in  the  following  manner :  "  Those 
who  go  to  Paris  Garden,  the  Belle  Sauvage,  or 
Theatre,  to  behold  Bear-baiting,  interludes,  or  fence 
play,  must  not  account  of  any  pleasant  spectacle 
unless  they  first  pay  one  pennie  at  the  gate,  another 
at  the  entrie  of  the  scaffold,  and  a  third  for  quiet 
standing."*  The  time  usually  chosen  for  the  ex- 
hibition of  these  national  barbarisms,  which  were 
sufficiently  disgraceful  without  this  additional  re- 
proach, was  the  after-part  of  the  Sabbath  Day.  One 
Sunday  afternoon  in  January,  1583,  the  scaffold 
being  overcrowded  with  spectators,  fell  down  during 
the  performance,  and  a  great  number  of  persons 
were  killed  or  maimed  by  the  accident,  which  the 
Puritans  of  the  time  failed  not  to  attribute  to  a 
Divine  judgment.t 

Erasmus,  who  visited  England  in  the  time  of 
Henry  VIII. ,  says  there  were  many  herds  of  Bears 
maintained  in  this  country  for  the  purpose  of  baiting. 
When  Queen  Mary  visited  her  sister  the  Princess 
Elizabeth,  during  her  confinement  at  Hatfield  House, 
a  grand  exhibition  of  Bear-baiting  took  place  for 

*  See  also  Strutt's  "  Sports  and  Pastimes." 

f  See  Field,  "A  Godly  Exhortation  by  occasion  of  the  late  Judgment 
of  God  shewed  at  Paris  Garden.  13  January,  1583,  upon  divers  Persons 
whereof  some  were  killed,  and  many  hurt  at  a  Bear-bating,"  &c. 
I2mo,  Lond.  1583. 


THE  BEAR.  27 

their  amusement,  with  which,  it  is  said,  "their 
highnesses  were  right  well  content."  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, on  the  25th  of  May,  1559,  soon  after  her 
accession  to  the  throne,  gave  a  splendid  dinner  to 
the  French  Ambassadors,  who  were  afterwards  en- 
tertained with  the  baiting  of  Bulls  and  Bears,  the 
Queen  herself  remaining  to  witness  the  pastime  until 
six  in  the  evening.  The  day  following,  the  same 
ambassadors  went  by  water  to  Paris  Garden,  where 
they  saw  some  more  Bear-baiting.  Some  years 
afterwards,  as  we  learn  from  Holinshed,  Elizabeth 
received  the  Danish  Ambassador  at  Greenwich,  and 
entertained  him  with  the  sight  of  Bear-baiting, 
"tempered  with  other  merry  disports/'  Laneham, 
referring  to  some  Bear-baiting  which  took  place 
before  the  Queen  at  Kenilworth,  in  1575,  says 
that  thirteen  Bears  were  provided  for  the  occasion 
and  that  they  were  baited  with  a  great  sort  of 
ban-dogs.*  In  these  accounts  we  find  no  mention 
made  of  a  ring  put  through  the  Bear's  nose,  which 
certainly  was  the  more  modern  practice ;  hence  the 
expression  by  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  in  "  The 
Humorous  Lovers,"  printed  in  1617:  "I  fear  the 
wedlock  ring  more  than  the  bear  does  the  ring  in 
his  nose." 

The  office  of  Chief  Master  of  the  Bears  was  held 
under  the  Crown,  with  a  salary  of  sixteen  pence  a 
day.  Whenever  the  Sovereign  chose  to  be  enter- 

*  "  A  Letter :  whearin  part  of  the  entertainment  vntoo  the  Queenz 
Maiesty  at  Killingworth  Castl,  in  Warwick  Sheer  in  the  Soomerz 
Progress  1575  is  signified." 


28  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

tained  with  this  sport,  it  was  the  duty  of  the 
Master  to  provide  bears  and  dogs,  and  to  super- 
intend the  baiting.  He  was  invested  with  un- 
limited authority  to  issue  commissions,  and  to 
send  his  officers  into  every  county  in  England,  who 
were  empowered  to  seize  and  take  away  any  bears, 
bulls,  or  dogs  that  they  thought  suitable  for  the 
royal  service.  The  latest  record  by  which  this 
diversion  was  publicly  authorized  is  a  grant  to  Sir 
Saunders  Duncombe,  dated  October  u,  1561,  "for 
the  sole  practice  and  profit  of  the  fighting  and  com- 
bating of  wild  and  domestic  beasts  within  the  realm 
of  England,  for  the  space  of  fourteen  years. " 

The  nobility  also  kept  their  "  Bear-ward,"  who 
was  paid  so  much  a  year,  like  a  keeper,  falconer,  or 
other  retainer.  Twenty  shillings  was  the  payment 
made  in  1 5 1 2  to  the  "  Bear- ward  "  of  the  fifth  Earl  of 
Northumberland  "when  he  comyth  to  my  lorde  in 
Cristnias  with  his  lordshippes  beests  for  makynge  of 
his  lordship's  pastyme  the  said  xij.  days." 

The  Prior  of  Durham,  in  1530-1534,  kept  bears, 
and  apes  too,  as  we  learn,  from  an  entry  in  the 
accounts  of  the  bursar  of  the  monastery,  where 
the  following  entry  occurs  :  — Et  custodi  ursorum  et 
cimearum  [simiarum]  domince  Principle,  i  Junii  .  .  5$. 

A  travelling  "Bear- ward"  depended  entirely  on 
his  patrons.  In  the  "Household  Book"  kept  by 
the  steward  of  Squire  Kitson,  of  Hengrave,  Suffolk, 
and  commenced  in  1572,  we  find,  under  date  July, 
1574,  the  entry  :  "To  a  Bear  man  for  bringing  his 
Bears  to  Hengrave  ....  ij.s  vjd." 


THE  BEAR.  29 

Paul  Hentzner,  who,  in  the  capacity  of  travelling 
tutor  to  a  young  German  nobleman,  visited  England 
in  1598,  has  left  a  curious  record  of  his  journey  in 
the  form  of  an  "  Itinerary,"  preserved  to  us  through 
the  instrumentality  of  Horace  Walpole.* 

In  this  "  Itinerary "  the  writer,  after  describing 
the  theatres  (p.  269),  particularly  mentions  another 
place,  built  in  the  form  of  a  theatre,  which  served  for 
the  baiting  of  bulls  and  bears.  "  They  are  fastened 
behind,"  he  says,  "  and  then  worried  by  great 
English  bulldogs ;  but  not  without  great  risque  to- 
the  dogs,  from  the  horns  of  the  one  and  the  teeth 
of  the  other ;  and  it  sometimes  happens  they  are 
killed  upon  the  spot :  fresh  ones  are  immediately 
supplied  in  the  place  of  those  that  are  wounded  or 
tired." 

When  any  Bear-baiting  was  about  to  take  place, 
it  was  publicly  made  known,  and  the  "  Bearward  " 
previously  paraded  the  streets  with  his  animal,  to 
excite  the  curiosity  of  the  populace,  and  induce 
them  to  become  spectators  of  the  sport.  On  these 
occasions  the  Bear,  who  was  usually  preceded  by  a 
minstrel  or  two,  carried  a  monkey  or  baboon  on  his 
back.  In  "  The  Humorous  Lovers,"  the  play  above 
referred  to,  "  Tom  of  Lincoln "  is  mentioned  as  the 
name  of  a  famous  Bear,  and  one  of  the  characters, 
pretending  to  personate  a  "  Bearward,"  says ;  "  I'll 
set  up  my  bills,  that  the  gamesters  of  London,  Horsly- 

*  "A  Journey  into  England  by  Paul  Hentzner  in  the  year  1598." 
First  printed  in  the  year  1757,  and  contained  also  in  Dodsley's 
'•  Fugitive  Pieces,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  233-311  (1765). 


30  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

down,  Southwark,*  and  Newmarket  may  come  in 
and  bait  him  before  the  ladies;  but  first,  boy,  go 
fetch  me  a  bagpipe ;  we  will  walk  the  streets  in 
triumph,  and  give  the  people  notice  of  our  sport." 

The  two  following  advertisements,  published  in  the 
reign  of  Queen  Anne,  will  serve  as  specimens  of  the 
manner  in  w7hich  these  pastimes  were  announced  to 
the  public : — 

"  At  the  Bear  Garden  in  Hockley-in-the-Hole,  near 
Clerkenwell  Green,  this  present  Monday,  there  is  a 
great  match  to  be  fought,  by  two  dogs  of  Smithfield 
Bars,  against  two  dogs  of  Hampstead,  at  the  Reading 
Bull,  for  one  guinea  to  be  spent :  five  let-goes  out  of 
hand ;  which  goes  fairest  and  furthest  in  wins  all. 
Likewise  there  are  two  Bear-dogs  to  jump  three 
jumps  a  piece  at  the  Bear,  which  jumps  highest  for 
ten  shillings  to  be  spent.  Also  a  variety  of  Bull- 
baiting  and  Bear-baiting ;  it  being  a  day  of  general 
sport  by  all  the  old  gamesters ;  and  a  bulldog  to  be 
drawn  up  with  fireworks.  Beginning  at  three 
o'clock." 

A  second  advertisement  runs  thus  : — "  At  William 
Well's  Bear-garden  in  Tuttle  Fields,  Westminster, 
this  present  Monday,  there  will  be  a  green  Bull 
baited,  and  twenty  dogs  to  fight  for  a  collar ;  and 
the  dog  that  runs  furthest  and  fairest  wins  the 
collar :  with  other  diversions  of  Bull  and  Bear 
baiting.  Beginning  at  two  of  the  clock."t 

*  The  Bear-garden  at  South wark,  with  its  "  band-dogges  or  mas- 
tives,"  three  of  which  were  able  to  hold  down  a  bear,  is  briefly  alluded 
to  by  Camden,  vol.  i.  p.  434  (ed.  Holland). 

t  Strutt's  "  Sports  and  Pastimes,"  p.  237. 


THE  BEAR.  31 

Sometimes  as  many  as  seven  bears  were  exhibited 
at  once,  each  confined  by  a  long  rope  or  chain,  and 
baited  with  three  or  four  large  and  courageous  dogs, 
who  rushed  upon  him  with  open  jaws.  The  bears, 
ferocious  and  fretful  with  continued  fighting,  were  of 
great  strength,  and  not  only  defended  themselves 
with  their  teeth,  but  hugged  the  dogs  to  death,  or 
half  suffocated  them  before  their  masters  could  release 
them.  The  bears  generally  bore  the  same  names  as 
their  owners — "Hunx,"  "George  Stone,"  "  Old  Harry 
of  Tame,"  and  "  Great  Ned,"  were  well-known  public 
characters,  and  Shakspeare  alludes  to  one  named 
"Sackerson." 

Sometimes  the  bear  broke  loose,  to  the  terror  of 
women  and  children.  On  one  occasion  a  great  blind 
bear  broke  his  chain,  and  bit  a  piece  out  of  a  serving- 
man's  leg,  who  died  of  the  wound  in  three  days.  On 
such  emergencies  a  daring  gallant  would  often  run 
up  and  seize  the  furious  beast,  entangled  as  he  was 
with  dogs,  and  secure  him  by  his  chain.  It  was 
to  an  exploit  of  this  kind  that  Master  Slender 
referred  when,  boasting  of  his  prowess  to  Mistress 
Anne  Page,  he  said: — "I  have  seen  ' Sackerson' 
loose  twenty  times,  and  have  taken  him  by  the 
chain ;  but,  I  warrant  you,  the  women  have  so  cried 
and  shrieked  at  it,  that  it  passed :  but  women, 
indeed,  cannot  abide  'em  ;  they  are  very  ill-favoured 
rough  things." — Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,  act  i.  sc.  i. 

Shakspeare  has  drawn  not  a  few  illustrations 
and  metaphors  from  this  rude  sport.  In  another 
place  he  speaks  of  the  bearward's  bears  frightening 


3  2  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

the  fell-lurking  curs  by  the  mere  shaking  of  their 
chains,  and  describes  a  hot  o'er  weening  cur  running 
back  and  biting  his  owner,  who  withheld  him,  yet 
when  suffered  to  get  within  reach  of  the  bear's  fell 
paw,  clapped  his  tail  between  his  legs  and  howled. — 
Second  Part  of  Henry  VI.  act  v.  sc.  i. 

The  noise  of  the  bear-gardens  must  have  been 
well-nigh  unendurable,  what  with  the  din  of  men 
eager  to  bet  on  their  favourites,  and  the  loud  shouts 
of  the  respective  partisans  of  dog  and  bear.  At  the 
present  day  the  comparison  of  a  noisy  house  to  a 
"  bear-garden"  still  perpetuates  the  national  amuse- 
ment of  our  forefathers. 

Happily,  such  pastimes  have  long  been  obsolete, 
although  the  memory  of  these  bygone  days  is  still 
occasionally  revived  by  an  attempted  exhibition  of  a 
tame  performing  bear.* 

*  Singularly  enough  while  these  pages  were  passing  through  the 
press  the  daily  papers  of  August  n,  1880,  furnished  a  report  of  a 
summons  which  had  just  been  heard  by  the  magistrate  at  Greenwich 
against  two  Frenchmen  who  had  been  brought  before  him  "  charged 
with  exhibiting  a  bear  in  the  streets,  to  the  danger  of  the  public."  A 
constable  stated  that  on  the  afternoon  of  the  previous  day  he  was  on 
duty  at  Eushey  Green,  Lewisham,  when  a  party  of  ladies  drove  up  in 
a  carriage  and  said  that  some  men  were  performing  with  a  strange 
animal  at  Catford  Bridge,  and  that  their  horse  would  not  pass  it.  He 
went  to  the  bridge,  where  he  saw  the  two  Frenchmen  with  a  bear, 
which  was  dancing,  turning  summersaults,  and  climbing  a  pole.  He 
told  them  that  such  exhibitions  were  not  allowed  in  the  public  streets, 
and  on  their  continuing  the  performance  he  took  them  into  custody. 
The  magistrate  told  the  men  that  if  they  would  at  once  leave  the 
country  with  the  bear,  he  would  let  them  go.  They  gave  the  desired 
promise,  and  were  accordingly  discharged. 


33 


THE  BEAVER 

Castor  fiber. 

THERE  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that,  within  historic 
times,  the  Beaver  was  an  inhabitant  of  Britain, 
although,  like  the  Bear,  the  Wolf,  and  the  Wild  Boar, 
it  has  long  been  exterminated  before  the  advance  of 
civilization. 

The  earliest  notice  we  find  of  it  is  contained  in 
the  code  of  Welsh  laws  made  by  Howel  Dha 
(A.D.  940),  and  which,  unlike  the  ancient  Saxon  codes 
and  the  Irish  Senchus  Mor,  contains  many  quaint 


34  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

laws  relating  to  hunting  and  fishing.  It  is  there 
laid  down  that  the  king  is  to  have  the  worth  of 
Beavers,  Martens,  and  Ermines,  in  whatsoever  spot 
they  shall  be  killed,  because  from  them  the  borders 
of  the  king's  garments  are  made. 

The  price  of  a  Beaver's  skin,  termed  "  croen 
llostlydan"  at  that  time  was  fixed  at  120  pence, 
while  the  skin  of  a  Marten  was  only  24  pence,  and 
that  of  a  Wolf,  Fox,  and  Otter  8  pence.  This  shows 
that  even  at  that  period  the  Beaver  was  a  rare  animal 
in  Wales. 

The  superior  warmth  and  comfort  which  the 
Beaver's  skin  afforded,  added  to  the  reputation  of 
the  medicinal  properties  of  the  castor,  must  have 
operated  as  a  very  powerful  incitement  to  hunt  the 
Beaver  in  those  early  times.  We  must,  therefore, 
refer  the  period  of  their  abundance  in  this  country 
to  an  age  much  earlier  than  that  of  Howel  Dha,  the 
period,  perhaps,  before  the  Britons  were  driven  from 
the  more  southern  parts  of  Britain  into  the  wilds  of 
Cambria  by  the  Romans,  Danes,  and  Saxons,  and 
when  the  mountainous  wilds  of  Wales  were  almost 
unreclaimed  from  a  state  of  Nature  by  the  hand  of 
cultivation.  At  such  a  time,  it  is  very  likely,  the 
Beavers  were  numerous  in  many  of  the  mountain 
streams  and  pools,  but  after  the  defeat  of  Vortigern, 
who  settled  with  a  remnant  of  his  scattered  Britons 
among  these  mountains,  it  is  easy  to  conceive  the 
Beaver  would  be  sought  for  by  the  hunters,  perhaps 
for  the  sake  of  food,  and  certainly  for  its  fur  ;  so 
that  after  the  lapse  of  some  centuries  which  passed 


THE  BEAVER.  35 

before  the  time  of  Howel  Dha,  its  numbers 
would  be  progressively  diminished,  and  that  very 
considerably.  There  still  remained,  however,  ex- 
tensive wastes  in  Howel's  time,  for  it  was  among 
the  laws  of  that  prince  that  every  man  was  entitled 
to  so  much  land  of  that  kind  as  he  should  bring  into 
cultivation.  We  cannot  imagine,  therefore,  that  the 
Beaver  was  unable  to  find  a  secure  retreat  among 
the  valleys  of  these  barren  mountains,  the  hills  of 
Snowdon.* 

Howel  Dha  died  in  the  year  948  ;  the  travels 
of  Giraldus  de  Barri — or,  as  he  is  generally 
styled,  Giraldus  Cambrensis — did  not  take  place 
till  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  after- 
wards ;  it  cannot,  therefore,  excite  surprise  that  the 
Beaver  had  then  become  scarce  and  local,  since 
we  have  seen  the  value  attached  to  its  skin,  and 
established  by  law  between  two  and  three  centuries 
before  that  time. 

In  his  quaint  account  of  the  journey  he  made 
through  Wales  in  1188,  in  company  with  Baldwin, 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  (who  afterwards  fell  before 
Acre  in  the  train  of  Richard  Cceur  de  Lion),  Giraldus 
tells  us  that  the  Beaver  was  found  in  the  river  Teivi 
in  Cardiganshire,  and  gives  a  curious  account  of  its 
habits,  apparently  derived  in  some  part  from  his  own 
observation,  t 

Harrison,  in  his  description  of  England  prefixed  to 
Holinshed's  "Chronicles,"  remarks:  "For  to  saie 

*  Donovan,  "  British  Quadrupeds." 
t  "  Itinerary,"  ed.  Hoare,  vol.  ii.  p.  49. 


3 6  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

the  truth  we  have  not  manie  Bevers  but  onelie  in 
the  Teifie  in  Wales."*  The  precise  spot  on  the 
river  appears  to  have  been  Kilgarran,  which  is 
situated  on  the  summit  of  a  rock  at  a  place  called 
Canarch  Mawr  (now  Kenarth),  where  there  is  a 
salmon  leap. 

Drayton,  in  his  "  Polyolbion  "  (song  vi.),  has  thus 
versified  the  tradition  : — 

More  famous  long  agone,  than  for  the  salmon's  leap, 
For  Beavers  Tivy  was,  in  her  strong  banks  that  bred, 
Which  else  no  other  brook  of  Britain  nourished: 
Where  Nature  in  the  shape  of  this  now  perish'd  beast 
Her  property  did  seem  to  have  wondrously  exprest. 

There  is  some  reason  for  supposing,  however,  that 
there  were  other  rivers  in  Wales,  besides  the  Teivi, 
which  were  frequented  by  these  animals.  "  In  the 
Conway,"  says  Camden,  "  is  the  Beavers'  pool,"  and  a 
portion  of  the  river  bank  above  Llanwrst  is  supposed 
to  have  been  a  Beavers'  dam. 

Sir  Bichard  Colt  Hoare,  in  his  edition  of  the 
"  Itinerary  "  of  Giraldus,  remarks  :  "  If  the  Castor 
of  Giraldus,  and  the  Avanc  of  Humphrey  Llwyd  and 
of  the  Welsh  dictionaries,  be  really  the  same  animal, 
it  certainly  is  not  peculiar  to  the  Teivi,  but  was 
equally  known  in  North  Wales,  as  the  names  of  the 
places  testify.  A  small  lake  in  Montgomeryshire  is 
called  Llyn  yr  Afangc ;  a  pool  in  the  river  Conway, 
not  far  from  Bettws,  bears  the  same  name  (the 
Beavers'  Pool)  ;  and  the  name  of  the  vale  called 
Nant  Ffrancon,  upon  the  river  Ogwen,  in  Caernar- 

*  Holinshed's  "  Chronicles,"  vol.  i.  p.  379. 


THE  BEAVER.  37 

vonshire,  is  supposed  by  the  natives  to  be  a  cor- 
ruption from  Nant  yr  afancwm,  or  the  Vale  of  the 
Beavers." 

Owen,  in  his  Welsh  Dictionary  (1801),  says  that  it 
has  been  "  seen  in  this  valley  within  the  memory  of 
man ;"  but  says  Sir  Richard  Hoare,  "  I  am  much 
inclined  to  think  that  'Avanc'  or  'Afangc'  is  nothing 
more  than  an  obsolete  or  perhaps  local  name  for  the 
common  ^Otter,  an  animal  exceedingly  well  known 
hi  all  our  lakes  and  rivers,  and  the  recognition  of 
it  by  Mr.  Owen  considerably  strengthens  my  sup- 
position. Afancwm  is  evidently  the  plural  of  Afangi, 
composed  of  the  words  A/an,  a  corrupt  pronuncia- 
tion of  Afon  (a  river),  and  Ci  (a  dog),  synonymous,  as 
I  conceive,  with  Dyfrgi  (the  water-dog),  which  is  the 
common  appellation  of  the  Otter  amongst  the  Welsh. 
The  term  '  Mostly  dan,'  or  broad-tail,  from  Llost  (tail) 
and  Llydan  (broad),  appears  to  be  more  immediately 
applicable  to  the  character  of  the  Beaver  as  described 
by  naturalists,  and  is  equally  authorized  by  the  Welsh 
Dictionaries,  though  not  so  often  used  as  Afangc."* 

Upon  this  we  would  remark  that,  while  it  is  pretty 
certain  that  the  animal  seen,  according  to  Owen, 
"  within  the  memory  of  man,"  was  the  Otter,  the 
minute  description  given  by  Giraldus  shows  that  the 
animal  to  which  he  referred  was  the  Beaver. 

Describing  the  river  Lleder  at  its  junction  with 
the  Conway,  Wood  says  :f — "  From  a  more  westerly 
course  the  Conway  here  turns  nearly  due  north,  and 

*  "  Itinerary,"  ed.  Hoare,  vol.  ii.  pp.  55-57. 

t  "The  Principal  Rivers  of  Wales  Illustrated."    4to,  1813,  part  ii. 
p.  239. 

D  2 


38  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

exhibits  the  most  enchanting  views,  in  which  the 
grand  features  of  the  mountains  are  most  happily 
blended  with  the  softer  woodland  scenery  of  the 
vale.  On  either  side  the  river,  rude  rocks  rear  their 
naked  heads,  a  scanty  covering  of  underwood  com- 
mences half  way  down,  which,  increasing  as  it 
descends,  intermixed  with  rock,  clothes  the  bottom 
through  which  the  river  winds.  In  the  midst  of 
this  luxuriant  wood,  a  stone  bridge  of  one  large  arch 
is  seen  crossing  the  stream.  This  bridge  is  called 
Pont  Lli/n  ar  Avangc,  or  the  Bridge  of  the  Beavers' 
Pool,  from  its  situation  at  the  head  of  a  deep  pool  in 
the  river  Conway,  in  old  times  frequented  by  those 
animals."  He  adds,  "  One  part  of  Nant  Francon  is 
named  Sarn  ar  Avangc,  or  the  Beavers'  Dam  :  and  it 
is  improbable  that  a  people  would  not  only  have  a 
name  for  an  animal  in  their  language,  but  actually 
assign  the  places  frequented  by  them,  unless  such 
animal  had  existed  in  that  country." 

Amongst  the  Welsh  historians,  Sir  John  Price 
and  Humphry  Llwyd  have  both  noticed  the  former 
existence  of  the  Beaver  in  Wales.  The  first- 
named  of  these  authorities,  Sir  John  Price,  is  the 
author  of  a  description  of  Cambria  that  is  usually 
found  annexed  to  the  History  of  Wales,  continued 
from  Caradoc  of  Llancarvon,  the  contemporary  of 
Geoffrey  of  Monmouth.  This  description  of  the 
Cambrian  principality  by  Sir  John  Price  was  written 
in  the  time  of  Henry  VIII.,  and  was  afterwards 
augmented  by  Humphry  Llwyd,  Gent.,  of  Denbigh, 
who  died  in  1568.  The  work  in  consequence  did  not 


THE  BEAVER.  39 

appear  till  the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  when  an 
English  translation  of  it  was  inserted  by  Dr.  Powel,  in 
his  "  History  of  Wales,"  published  in  1588.  We  are 
thus  minute  in  describing  the  circumstance,  because 
the  passage  we  are  proceeding  to  notice  has  been 
attributed  to  Dr.  Powel,  while  from  the  preceding 
observations  it  will  appear  to  be  really  the  writing  of 
a  much  earlier  author.  The  passage  is  as  follows  : — 
"  Kdarup  Greek,  Fiber  Latin,  Beaver  English,  Afanc 
British.  Giraldus  in  Itinerarium." 

"  In  Teivi,  above  all  the  rivers  in  Wales,  were  in 
Giraldus's  time  a  great  number  of  Castors,  which 
may  be  Englished  Beavers,  and  are  called  in  Welsh 
avanc,  which  name  onelie  remaineth  in  Wales  at  this 
date,  but  what  it  is  very  few  can  tell.  It  is  a  beast 
not  much  unlike  an  Otter,  but  it  is  bigger,  all  hearie 
saving  the  taile,  which  is  like  a  fishe  taile,  as  broad 
as  a  man's  hand.  This  beaste  useth  as  well  the 
water  as  the  land,  and  hath  very  sharp  teeth,  and 
biteth  cruellie  till  he  perceive  the  bones  cracke." 

After  mentioning  the  efficacy  of  the  secretions 
of  this  animal  in  physic,  the  writer  proceeds : 
"  He  that  will  learn  what  strong  nests  they  make, 
which  Giraldus  calleth  castells,  which  they  build 
upon  the  face  of  the  water  with  great  bows  (boughs) 
which  they  cut  with  their  teeth,  and  how  some  lie 
upon  their  backs,  holding  the  wood  with  their 
fore  feet,  which  the  other  draweth  with  a  crosse  stick, 
the  which  he  holdeth  in  his  mouth,  to  the  water- 
side ;  and  the  other  particularities  of  their  natures, 
let  him  read  Giraldus,  in  his  Topographic  of  Wales." 


40  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

After  stating  that  the  Teivi  was  the  only  river  in 
Wales,  or  even  in  England,  that  had  Beavers, 
Giraldus  remarks  :  "  In  Scotland  they  are  said  to  be 
found  in  one  river,  but  are  very  scarce."  Hector 
Boece  (or  Boethius),  that  shrewd  old  father  of 
Scottish  historians,  writing  in  1526,  enumerates  the 
Fibri*  or  Beavers,  with  perfect  confidence,  amongst 
the  ferce  naturae  of  Loch  Ness,  whose  fur  was  in 
request  for  exportation  towards  the  end  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  and  he  even  speaks  of  "an  incom- 
parable number,"  though  perhaps  he  may  be  only 
availing  himself  of  a  privilege  which  moderns  have 
taken  the  liberty  of  granting  to  medieval  authors 
when  dealing  with  curious  facts.  Bellenden,  in  his 
vernacular  translation  of  Boethius'  "Croniklis  of 
Scotland,"  which  he  undertook  at  royal  request  in 
J536,  while  omitting  stags,  roe-deer,  and  even 
otters,  in  his  anxiety  for  accuracy,  mentions  "  Bevers  " 
without  the  slightest  hesitation  ;  and,  though  ex- 
ception may  be  taken  to  the  first  clause  of  the 
sentence,  yet  the  passage  is  worth  quoting  :  "Mony 
wyld  Hors  and  amang  yame  are  mony  Martrikis 
[pine  martens],  Bevers,  Quhitredis  [weasels],  and 
Toddis  [foxes],  the  furrings  and  skynnis  of  thayme  are 
coft  [bought]  with  great  price  amang  uncouth  [foreign] 
merchandis." 

More  than  a  century  later,  Sir  Robert  Sibbald  was 
unable  to  say  that  the  Beaver  still  existed  in  Scotland. 
In  his  "  Scotia  lllustrata,"  published  in  1 684,  he 

*  Fibri,  from  Fiber,  denoting  an  animal  that  is  fond  of  the  Jlbrum 
or  edge,  of  the  water. 


THE  BEAVER.  41 

remarks  (par.  iii.  cap.  v.),  "  Boethius  dicit  Fibrum  seu 
Castorem  in  Scotia  reperiri,  an  mine  reperiatur 
nescio." 

It  is  more  than  probable,  says  Dr.  Robert  Brown, 
that  the  worthy  historians  were  influenced  by  a  little 
of  the  natural  pride  of  country — the  "  perfervidum 
ingenium  Scotorum  " — when  they  recorded  the  Beaver 
as  an  inhabitant  of  Loch  Ness  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  since  no  mention  is  made  of  it  in  an  Act  of 
Parliament  dated  June,  1424,  although  "  mertricks, 
foumartes,  otters,  and  toddis  "  are  specified.  They 
were  perhaps  so  strongly  impressed  by  the  wide- 
spread tradition  of  its  existence  in  former  days  as  to 
lead  them  to  enumerate  it  among  the  animals  of 
Scotland,  and  it  may  be  observed  that  the  authors 
quoted  boast  immoderately  of  the  productions  of  their 
country.  At  the  beginning  of  the  century  (at  least) 
the  Highlanders  had  a  peculiar  name  for  the  animal 
— Losleatlian  *  or  Dobhran  losleathan,  the  Broad- 
tailed  Otter  ;  and,  according  to  Dr.  Stewart  of  Luss, 
in  a  letter  to  the  late  Dr.  Patrick  Neill,  Secretary  of 
the  Wernerian  Society  of  Natural  History,  a  tradi- 
tion used  to  exist  that  the  Beaver,  or  Broad-tailed 
Otter,  once  lived  in  Lochaber. 

Of  the  Beaver  in  Scotland,  says  Stuart, f  there  is 
later  testimony  than  of  the  Bear.  Like  that  animal, 
it  has  left  in  its  radical  Gaelic  name,  Dobhar-Chu,\ 

*  Compare  the  Welsh  Llostlydan. 

f  "  Lays  of  the  Deer  Forest,"  vol.  ii.  p.  216. 

£  In  the  modern  confusion  of  obsolete  terms,  this  name  is  some- 
times confounded  with  that  of  the  Otter,  which  is  Dolhar-an. — 
Stuart,  op.  cit. 


42  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

the  water-dog,  an  evidence  of  its  aboriginal  nativity 
in  Scotland ;  and  its  existence  in  Britain  is  noticed 
in  a  romance  not  anterior  to  the  twelfth  century,*  of 
which  the  materials  were  probably  derived  from 
Wales. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  the  written  records  we 
have  of  its  occurrence  are  very  fragmentary,  and  not 
wholly  satisfactory  ;  but  abundant  evidence  of  its 
former  existence  in  this  country  at  a  date  long 
anterior  to  these  historical  notices  is  supplied  by  the 
remains  of  the  animal  which  have  been  exhumed  in 
various  places,  both  in  England  and  Scotland. 

In  the  third  volume  of  the  "  Memoirs  of  the  Wer- 
nerian  Nat.  Hist.  Society"  (1821,  p.  207),  is  an 
account  by  the  late  Dr.  Neill  of  some  remains  of 
Beavers  found  in  Perthshire  at  the  Loch  of  Marlee, 
Kinloch,  and  in  Middlestots  Bog,  Kimmerghame,  in 
Berwickshire.!  Another  skull  exhumed  at  Linton, 
in  Roxburghshire,  is  preserved  in  the  Museum  at 
Kelso.  j  Other  remains  of  Beavers,  considered  to 
be  identical  with  the  species  found  in  North  America 
at  the  present  day,  have  been  discovered  at  Mun- 
desley,  Bacton,  and  Happesburg,  Norfolk,  in  the 
nuvio-marine  crag  near  Southwold,  Suffolk,  in  the 
peat  near  Newbury,§  and  in  the  Thames  Valley  at 
Crossness  Point,  near  Erith.  || 

*  Fragment  of  the  "  Romance  of  Sir  Tristram,"  MS.  in  the  Douce 
Collection,  No.  2. 

f  See,  also,  Dr.  C.  Wilson,  'On  the  Prior  Existence  of  the  Castor 
fiber  in  Scotland,'  Edinb.  New  Phil.  Journ.,  1858,  N.S.,  vol.  viii. 

J  "  Proc.  Berwicks.  Nat.  Club,"  vol.  ii.  p.  48. 

§  Collet,  "  Phil.  Trans.,"  1757,  p.  112. 

||  Boyd  Dawkins,  Popular  Science  Review,  1868,  p.  39. 


THE  BEAVER.  43 

The  species  has  also  occurred  in  a  semi-fossil  con- 
dition in  Cambridgeshire,^  and  at  one  time,  it  would 
seem,  this  animal  must  have  been  common  in  the 
eastern  counties  of  England.  Mr.  Skertchley,  in  his 
remarks  on  the  prehistoric  fauna  of  the  Fens,f  says, 
"  The  remains  of  the  Beaver  are  tolerably  abundant 
in  the  Fens  ;"  and  further  on  he  adds :  "  So  far  as 
my  observation  goes,  the  Beaver  did  not  build  dams 
in  the  Fens,  owing,  in  all  probability,  to  the  abun- 
dance of  still  water.  The  late  J.  K.  Lord,  an  ex- 
perienced trapper,  remarked  that  in  North  America 
the  Beaver  only  constructs  dams  in  running  streams, 
and  chooses  still  water  where  possible,  to  save  the 
labour  of  architecture. " 

Mr.  Henry  Reeks,  however,  writing  in  December, 
1879,  states  that  if  such  is  the  case  it  is  utterly 
opposed  to  the  habits  of  these  animals  as  observed 
by  him  in  Newfoundland.  He  says  "  Newfoundland 
is  a  vast  lake  district,  abounding  in  ponds  and  lakes, 
from  a  few  hundred  yards  to  many  miles  in  length 
and  breadth  ;  Beavers  also  are  still  plentiful  there.  It 
is,  however,  a  fact  that  out  of  the  hundreds  of  Beavers' 
houses  I  saw  there,  none  were  built  in  ponds  or  lakes, 
but  invariably  on  the  brooks  running  into  or  from 
the  lake.  From  my  own  observations,  I  do  not 
think  it  would  accord  with  the  economy  of  the 
Beaver  to  build  a  house  in  still  water,  especially  in 
countries  like  Canada  and  Newfoundland — where, 
during  the  winter,  there  would  probably  be  an 

*  Jenyns'  "  British  Vertebrate  Animals,"  p.  34. 
t  "  The  Fenland,  Past  and  Present,"  p.  348. 


44  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS, 

average  of  five  feet  of  snow  on  the  ground  (although, 
of  course,  not  evenly  distributed),  which  means  a 
rise  of  at  least  two  feet  of  water  in  the  ponds  and 
lakes  at  the  break-up  of  winter.  How  then  would 
a  Beaver  manage  this  superabundance  of  still  water  ? 
You  will  probably  say. "  that's  best  known  to  the 


CRANIUM  OF  BEAVER  FROM  THE  FENS.   LTTER  SURFACE,  (g  NAT.  SIZE.)* 

Beaver  himself!"  Just  so  ;  but  we  know  what  a 
Beaver  does  under  similar  circumstances  when  he 
has  built  his  house  and  dam  on  a  running  brook. 
During  the  summer  months  Beavers  often  frequent 
ponds  and  lakes  at  a  distance  from  their  houses  for 
the  purpose  of  feeding  on  the  stems  and  roots  of  a 
pond  lily  (Nupliar  advena).  When  a  Beaver's  house 

*  From  a  specimen  in  the  Museum  of  the  Eoyal  College  of  Surgeons. 


THE  BEAVER.  45 

is  placed  on  the  margin  of  a  lake,  I  think  it  will 
invariably  be  found  to  be  at  the  mouth  of  a  small 
brook  running  out  of  the  lake,  and  vice  versa." 

Pennant,  or  rather  his  editor,  refers  to  a  complete 
head  of  a  Beaver,  with  the  teeth  entire,  which  was 
found  in  the  peat  at  Komsey,  Hants,  *  and  Mr.  F. 


CRANIUM   OF   BEAVER  FROM    THE   FENS.      UNDER   SURFACE.      (£   NAT.    S17K). 

Buckland  has  a  fine  specimen  of  a  Beaver's  jaw, 
which  was  dug  up  in  a  fen  in  Lincolnshire  ;  various 
portions  of  the  skeleton  have  been  discovered  in 
Kent's  Hole,  Devonshire,  the  only  British  cave  which 
has  yielded  the  remains  of  this  animal,  f 

*  "  British  Zoology,"  vol.  i.  p.  60,  note  (ed.  1812). 
f  Pengelly  on  the  Ossiferous  Caverns  of  Devonshire,  "  Eeport  Brit. 
Assoc.  1869,"  p.  208,  and  1877,  pp.  1-8. 


46  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

Fossil  remains  of  an  extinct  Beaver,  closely  allied 
to,  but  much  larger  than,  the  existing  species,  have 
been  found  in  the  Norwich  crag  at  Cromer.  Prof. 
Owen  has  described  it  under  the  name  Trogontherium 
Cuvieri.* 

The  town  of  Beverley,  in  Yorkshire,  is  said  to 
have  derived  its  name  from  the  number  of  Beavers 
found  in  the  vicinity,  when  in  the  eighth  century 
(about  7 1  o)  St.  John  of  Beverley  built  his  hermitage 
there,  the  foundation  of  the  town.  The  stream  on 
which  the  town  was  built  was  then  called  in  Anglo- 
Saxon  "Beofor-leag,"  or  "the  Beavers  Lea;"  but 
this  has  become  softened  down  into  its  present  pro- 
nunciation and  spelling.  "  The  town,"  says  Leland, 
"  hath  yn  theyr  common  seal  the  figure  of  a 
bever."f  Other  places  in  England  also  seem  to 
indicate  by  their  names  the  ancient  haunts  of  this 
animal,  as  Beverege  (Worcestershire),  and  Bevere 
Island,  formed  by  the  Beverburn  or  "  Barbon"  (two 
miles  north  of  Worcester),  Bevercotes  (Nottingham- 
shire), Beverstone  (Gloucestershire),  and  Beversbrook 
(Wiltshire). 

The  lately-attempted  re-introduction  of  the  Beaver 
into  Scotland  by  the  Marquis  of  Bute  deserves  some 
notice  here. 

In  a  solitary  pine  wood  near  Rothesay,  in  the  Isle 

*  "  British  Fossil  Mammals,"  p.  184. 

t  Other  authorities,  however,  suggest  a  different  derivation — e.g., 
in  Phillips'  "  Yorkshire"  (and  ed.  p.  105)  we  read  :  "  At  Beverley  was 
the  shrine  of  St.  John,  preceded  by  an  earlier  settlement  marked  by 
four  stones,  from  which  we  infer  that  it  was  the  British  Pedivarllecli , 
and  Greek  Petonar,  chief  city  of  the  Parisoi,  as  it  still  is  of  the  East 
Hiding.  From  Pedwarllech  we  have  Bevorlac,  Bevevley." 


THE  BE  A  VER.  47 

of  Bute,  a  space  of  ground  has  been  walled  in  so  that 
the  Beavers  cannot  escape,  and  through  this  Beaver's 
park  runs  a  mountain  stream.  Left  to  themselves, 
they  have  quite  altered  the  appearance  of  this  stream, 
for  they  have  built  no  fewer  than  three  dams  across 
it ;  the  lowest  is  the  largest  and  most  firmly  con- 
structed, as  it  would  seem  the  Beavers  were  fully 
aware  that  it  would  have  to  bear  the  greatest 
pressure  of  water.  In  order  to  strengthen  this  dam, 
these  intelligent  animals  have  supported  the  down- 
stream surface  of  it  with  props  of  strong  boughs,  as 
artfully  secured  as  though  a  human  engineer  had  been 
at  work.  Immediately  above  this  the  Beavers  have 
constructed  their  hut  or  home,  consisting  apparently 
of  a  large  heap  of  drift  wood ;  upon  examination 
however,  it  appears  that  the  sticks  have  been  placed 
with  regularity  and  order,  so  that  the  general 
appearance  of  the  hut  is  not  unlike  that  of  a  bird's 
nest  turned  upside  down.  The  Beavers  have  cut 
down  a  good  many  trees  in  their  park,  gnawing  a 
wedge-shaped  gap  into  one  side  of  the  tree  until  it 
totters,  and  then  going  round  to  the  other  side  and 
gnawing  the  only  portion  of  wood  which  prevents  it 
from  falling.  If  the  felled  log  is  too  heavy  for 
transport,  they  cut  it  into  pieces,  which  they  roll 
away  separately.  Although  there  have  been  one  or 
two  deaths,  it  is  satisfactory  to  learn  that  these 
Beavers  have  bred  in  the  island  since  their  introduc- 
tion. In  December,  1877,  there  were  twelve  known 
to  be  alive.  They  were  reported  to  be  very  shy, 
retiring  into  their  hut,  or  into  the  water,  at  the  least 


48  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

alarm.  Besides  the  vegetable  food  they  pick  up, 
they  are  fed  principally  with  willow  boughs,  the  bark 
of  which  they  are  said  to  strip  off  with  the  neatness 
of  a  basket-maker. 

Mr.  Charles  Hockin,  who  spent  a  fortnight,  during 
the  summer  of  1879,  at  the  primitive  little  village  of 
Kilchattan  Bay,  in  the  Isle  of  Bute  (which  is  only 
about  a  couple  of  miles  from  the  Marquis  of  Bute's 
Beaver  ponds),  has  been  kind  enough  to  supply  us 
with  the  following  account  of  his  visit  : — 

"  The  Beavers  have,  I  am  informed  by  their  keeper, 
increased  considerably  in  number  during  the  last  few 
years,  and  numbered  in  1878  about  twenty-seven  or 
twenty-eight,  and  there  are,  it  is  believed,  eight  or 
ten  more  this  year ;  certainly,  judging  by  their 
works,  they  are  increasing.  They  have  now  five  or 
six  weirs,  or  dams,  across  the  stream,  of  which  the 
second  largest  was  partially  carried  away  by  the 
floods  of  the  late  spring,  and  now  displays,  in  its 
section  where  cut  off  by  the  water,  the  wonderful 
cleverness  of  these  interesting  little  engineers. 

"  The  largest  dam  they  have  constructed  is  about  a 
hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  length,  and  gives  a  depth 
of  water  in  the  pond  above  it  of  some  eight  or  nine 
feet.  It  is  arched  against  the  stream  in  a  manner 
showing  almost  human  ingenuity,  taking  advantage 
of  one  or  two  trees,  which  originally  must  have  stood 
on  the  very  edge  of  the  stream  (a  mere  rivulet) ; 
it  is  built  up  of  logs  varying  from  two  to  four  feet  in 
length,  and  from  one  to  four  or  five  inches  in  diameter, 
worked  together  and  filled  in  with  mud,  and 


THE  BE  A  VER.  49 

measures  some  eight  or  ten  feet  thick  at  the  base, 
and  about  two  feet  at  the  top. 

"  The  house  which  they  have  built  for  themselves  is 
constructed  of  similar  materials,  and  presents  a 
dome-shaped  top  of  about  ten  feet  in  diameter, 
rising  some  two  or  three  feet  above  the  water. 
There  are  two  entrances  or  doors  to  the  house,  both 
being  at  the  bottom  of  the  water,  and  an  air-hole  or 
ventilator  is  left  at  the  top,  protected  with  sticks  or 
logs. 

"  In  addition  to  the  house,  they  have  constructed 
several  burrows,  which,  entering  the  ground  under 
water,  run  into  the  bank  for  three  or  four  yards,  and 
are  provided  with  a  ventilator  similar  to  that  in  the 
house. 

"The  largest  pond,  that  in  which  the  house  is 
placed,  is  about  thirty  yards  long  by  ten  or  twelve 
yards  wide  at  the  widest,  the  dam  inclosing  a  little 
bay  or  inlet  at  one  end,  thus  accounting  for  its  extra 
length. 

"It  is  very  wonderful  to  observe  the  manner  in 
which  these  little  workmen  fell  trees  (some  of  them 
upwards  of  two  feet  in  diameter),  and  almost  in- 
variably bring  them  down  so  as  to  fall  directly 
towards  the  water,  thus  giving  them  a  shorter 
distance  to  drag  the  bark  and  branches  when  lopped 
off;  and  it  is  only  when  a  tree,  being  nearly  cut 
through  at  the  base,  succumbs  in  a  storm  coming 
from  a  wrong  direction,  or  when,  as  it  occasionally 
happens,  they  themselves  wish  it  otherwise,  that 
they  fail  to  bring  the  trees  down  directly  towards 


5o  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

the  stream.  There  is  one  instance  of  this  latter  fact 
which  is  very  difficult  to  explain.  A  tree  of  about  a 
foot  in  diameter  grew  close  to  the  base  of  one  of  the 
dams,  leaning  at  a  considerable  angle  over  the  dam, 
and  this,  for  some  reason  best  known  to  themselves, 
they  had  left  standing  long  after  they  had  cut  down 
trees  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  stream ; 
but  last  spring  they  started  to  cut  it  down,  and 
down  it  came — not,  as  it  would  be  supposed,  in  the 
direction  in  which  it  leaned  (which  would  have 
brought  it  right  across  the  dam),  but  backwards 
from  the  water,  and  nearly  exactly  in  a  contrary 
direction  from  that  in  which  it  grew.  How  this  was 
done  I  do  not  pretend  to  say,  nor  why,  for  it  was  not 
of  the  description  of  tree  on  which  they  feed  (mostly 
Scotch  fir) ;  but  there  it  lay,  having  been  down 
some  months,  with  all  its  bark  on  and  the  branches 
not  lopped  off,  clear  of  the  dam  and  stream. 

"The  mode  of  felling  trees  is  very  interesting; 
their  teeth  cut  as  clean  and  sharp  as  a  chisel,  and 
the  modus  operandi  (as  seen  by  the  keeper  in  his 
moonlight  watches)  is,  a  cut  above  and  a  cut  below, 
a  wrench,  and  out  comes  the  chip.  They  appear 
never  to  work  more  than  one  at  a  time  at  each  tree — 
i.e.,  so  far  as  the  cutting  down  is  concerned — and  to 
relieve  one  another  at  regular  intervals,  all  work 
being  done  at  night  or  in  the  very  early  morning. 
Two  or  more  will  join  together  to  drag  or  roll  a  log  to 
the  water  which  is  too  heavy  for  one  to  manage,  and 
the  bark  is  always  stripped  off  and  stored  under 
water  for  winter  consumption,  before  the  branches 


THE  BEAVER.  51 

are  cut  into   lengths   and   carried    off  for   building 
purposes. 

"  The  story  that  Beavers  use  their  broad  flat  tails 
as  a  '  trowel '  for  plastering  purposes  is  said  by  the 
keeper  (who  has  spent  a  very  great  deal  of  time  in 
watching  their  habits,  getting  up  into  a  tree  before 
dark,  and  sitting  there  without  sound  or  motion  for 
hours  and  hours)  to  be  a  myth.  He  describes  the 
process  of  plastering  as  follows  :  The  Beaver  swims 
away  from  the  dam  or  house  upon  which  it  is  at 
work  for  some  distance,  then  dives,  and  emerges 


LOWER  JAW   OF   BEAN  Ell   FROM.    THE   FEXS.      (J   NAT.    SIZE.)* 

again  close  to  the  dam  or  house,  carrying  the  mud 
in  its  mouth.  It  then  places  it  where  required,  and 
proceeds  to  knead  it  with  its  forefeet;  and  when 
one  considers  the  enormous  amount  of  work  entailed 
in  thus  plastering  a  dam  of  Soft,  or  looft.  long, 
i oft.  to  isft.  thick  at  the  base,  and  8ft.  to  loft, 
high,  it  makes  one  wish  that  our  human  workmen 
would  display  a  little  more  of  the  indomitable  per- 
severance shown  by  these  wonderful  little  creatures. 

*  From  a  specimen  in  the  Museum  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons. 


5  2  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

"  They  are  remarkably  shy  of  anything  human,  and 
upon  the  least  alarm  '  flop  '  goes  one  of  the  flat  tails 
upon  the  water,  and  'presto!'  not  a  Beaver  is  to 
be  seen. 

"  They  feed  mostly  on  the  inner  bark  of  the  Scotch 
fir,  great  quantities  of  which  they  store  under  water 
near  their  house  ;  they  also  eat  the  younger  shoots  of 
the  bracken  fern,  and  one  or  two  smaller  shrubs  of 
which  I  do  not  know  the  names.  They  are  also  very 
fond  of  the  bark  of  young  willow  shoots,  which  the 
keeper  supplies  them  with  from  time  to  time  in  the 
winter." 

Since  the  date  of  Mr.  Hockin's  visit  the  keeper 
who  has  charge  of  these  Beavers,  Mr.  J.  S.  Black,  has 
published  a  most  interesting  account  of  them  in  the 
Journal  of  Forestry,  for  February,  1880,*  which 
we  cannot  do  better  than  quote  in  extenso.  He  says  : — 

"In  1874,  the  Marquis  of  Bute  having  obtained  four 
beavers,  caused  a  space  of  from  three  to  four  acres  in 
extent  to  be  enclosed  in  the  wood  between  Meikle 
Kilchattan  and  Drumreach,  and  placed  them  there. 
These  not  succeeding,  his  lordship,  on  6th  January, 
1875,  obtained  seven  others.  Of  these,  four  suc- 
ceeded so  well  that  in  1878  I  was  certain  .of  sixteen 
being  alive,  which  makes  an  average  increase  of  four 
each  season.  There  is  a  further  increase  this  season, 
but  to  what  extent  I  cannot  say. 

"  Arriving  as  they  did  in  midwinter,  these  little 


*  '  A  Short  Account  of  tow  the  Marquis  of  Bute's  Beavers  have 
succeeded  in  the  Isle  of  Bute,  Scotland.'  By  Joseph  Stuart  Black, 
Keeper,  Bute  Estate. 


THE  BEAVER.  53 

animals,  I  can  assure  you,  had  a  pretty  hard  time  of  it. 
However,  after  a  few  days'  rest,  having  viewed  the 
situation,  they  set  vigorously  to  work  to  make  them- 
selves comfortable,  and  began  to  construct  a  dam  by 
forming  a  dyke  or  embankment  across  a  small  moor- 
land stream  running  through  the  enclosure ;  at  the 
same  time  they  commenced  to  build  a  house  to  live  in. 
"  The  materials  of  which  the  dyke  is  constructed 
are  wood,  grass,  mud,  and  a  few  stones  which  are 
used  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  grass  and 
smaller  pieces  of  wood  in  their  place  until  more  Is 
built  on  the  top  of  them.  They  have  continued  rais- 
ing this  embankment  to  a  certain  extent  every  year, 
until  it  has  now  attained  the  following  dimensions, 
viz.  : — length,  seventy  feet ;  height  in  the  deepest 
part,  fully  eight  feet;  breadth  of  base  at  deepest 
part,  from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet,  sloped  inside,  not 
straight  across,  but  finely  arched  against  the  stream, 
so  that  it  may  the  more  easily  resist  the  great  pres- 
sure of  water  which  it  has  to  bear  ; — perfectly  level, 
so  that  when  a  spate  of  water  comes  down  it  may 
run  evenly  over  the  top  from  side  to  side.  So  sub- 
stantially have  they  built  it,  that  no  material  damage 
has  occurred  to  it  from  all  the  floods  that  have  passed 
over  it.  They  use  a  number  of  the  larger  pieces  of  wood 
as  props,  by  fixing  the  thick  end  into  the  ground 
and  the  small  end  on  the  top,  then  build  on  the  top 
of  these,  so  as  to  fix  them  firmly.  It  would  require 
to  be  seen  to  appreciate  the  great  skill  displayed  in 
its  construction  ;  as  I  think  it  would  tax  the  energies 
of  a  Bateman  or  a  Gale  to  make  a  better  with  the 

E  2 


54  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

same  materials.  If  any  damage  does  occur,  they  im- 
mediately find  it  out  and  repair  it.  I  have  seen  them 
swim  along  the  edge  of  the  embankment,  carefully 
examining  it  to  ascertain  the  part  most  needful  of  re- 
pairs, then  go  to  work  with  a  will  to  rectify  it.  The 
dam  is  now  seventy-eight  yards  long  of  still  water. 

"  Besides  the  dam  already  mentioned,  upon  which 
they  bestow  great  care  in  its  construction,  owing  to 
the  house  being  built  in  it,  they  have  other  seven, 
some  larger,  some  smaller ;  one  of  them  having  an 
embankment  105  feet  long,  and  an  average  depth 
of  three  feet.  These  serve  as  places  of  refuge  if  the 
beavers  are  disturbed  when  out  roaming  about  in  quest 
of  food  or  felling  the  trees,  also  as  a  waterway  for  con- 
veying their  food  by  when  storing  it  for  winter. 

In  the  construction  of  their  dwelling  the  same 
kind  of  materials  are  used.  As  to  how  they  built  it : 
you  must  understand  that  for  a  considerable  distance 
along  one  side  of  the  stream,  or  burn,  the  ground 
rises  in  a  steep  bank,  but  about  twenty  yards  above 
where  they  began  to  build  the  embankment  for  the 
dam  there  was  a  small  level  spot  which  they  selected. 
Then  at  the  bottom  of  the  water  they  burrowed  in 
three  or  four  feet,  rose  up  eight  or  ten  inches, 
scooped  out  a  space  large  enough  to  hold  themselves, 
broke  a  hole  in  the  surface  about  six  inches  in 
diameter,  then  began  to  cover  it  over  with  sticks, 
grass,  and  a  few  stones,  always  keeping  it  open  in 
the  centre  by  placing  a  few  sticks  perpendicularly, 
so  as  to  act  as  a  ventilator,  and  as  the  water  rose  in 
the  dam  and  the  family  increased,  they  continued  to 


THE  BEAVER.  55 

build  and  enlarge  the  house,  cutting  their  way  up 
and  forming  their  chamber  or  chambers  inside,  until  it 
had  now  attained  the  following  dimensions  at  the 
surface  of  the  water  (which  is  here  about  four  feet 
deep),  viz.-: — height  about  five  feet,  length  and 
breadth  about  nine  feet,  having  a  door  at  both  sides 
placed  at  the  bottom  of  the  water  so  as  to  prevent 
their  natural  enemies  from  following  them,  chief 
among  which  is  the  wolverine,  although  happily  for 
both  them  and  us  there  are  none  of  these  here  to 
disturb  them. 

' '  It  is  out  of  the  water  they  take  the  materials  with 
which  they  build  their  house.  Were  the  sides  of 
the  house  perpendicular  they  could  not  land  ;  to 
obviate  that  difficulty  they  built  a  slip  from  two  to 
three  feet  broad  at  its  base,  except  where  the  doors 
are,  so  that  they  can  land  easily,  and  if  they  wish  to 
enlarge  the  house  they  have  got  the  foundation 
ready.  To  secure  them  against  the  winter  storms, 
they  commence  about  the  middle  of  September  and 
give  their  house  a  coat  of  mud  all  over.  It  is  with 
the  mouth  and  forefeet,  which  are  formed  more  like 
hands  than  feet,  that  they  convey  the  materials  of 
which  their  embankment  and  house  are  made.  They 
do  not  use  their  tail,  as  was  at  one  time  said,  for 
plastering  on  the  mud,  but  their  forefeet,  with  which 
they  very  carefully  stow  it  in  among  the  sficks.  As 
to  what  they  use  for  a  bed  to  lie  on,  it  is  wood 
shavings,  which  they  prepare  in  the  following  manner. 
After  using  the  bark  for  food,  they  then  place  the 
stick  on  end,  holding  it  with  both  feet  a  bit  apart 


56  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

then  with  their  teeth  pare  it  down  into  fine  shavings. 
They  are  very  cleanly  in  their  habits,  as  they  often 
clean  out  their  house,  not  casting  away  the  refuse, 
but  using  it  either  on  the  top  of  the  house  or  the 
embankment  of  the  dam  to  patch  up  a  hole. 

"  Their  food  in  winter  consists  wholly  of  the  bark 
of  trees  ;  had  they  a  choice  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying  they  would  prefer  the  willow  and  poplar. 
These  not  growing  in  the  enclosure  they  had  just  to 
adapt  themselves  to  circumstances,  and  take  a  share 
of  what  trees  they  could  get,  consisting  of  oak,  plane 
tree,  elm,  thorn,  hazel,  Scotch  fir,  and  larch.  Of  the 
hardwood,  they  seem  to  prefer  elm  to  plane  tree, 
then  oak,  of  which  they  eat  sparingly.  Of  the  firs, 
the  Scotch  has  the  preference  ;  as  for  the  larch  they 
did  not  touch  it  till  early  in  1878,  since  which  time 
they  have  taken  to  it  very  well.  As  for  the  alder 
and  spruce  fir,  they  eat  almost  nothing  of  them. 
Along  with  all  these,  we  have  always  given  them  a 
supply  of  willow.  In  summer  they  eat  freely  of  the 
common  bracken,  likewise  grass,  and  young  shoots  of 
every  description  growing  in  the  place.  In  autumn 
they  grub  up  and  feed  upon  roots,  chief  among  which 
is  the  tormentil  (Potentilla  tormentilla],  better  known 
to  Scotch  people  as  '  tormentil  root,'  and  the  young 
tender  shoots  of  the  common  '  spurts'  before  they 
appear  above  ground,  at  the  same  time  cutting  down 
a  tree  now  and  again  and  feeding  on  the  bark. 

"As  to  the  tree-felling  it  is  all  done  at  night ;  the 
number  which  they  have  cut  down  amounts  now  to 
187  trees  from  five  feet  in  circumference  downwards. 


THE  BEAVER.  57 

These  are  all  forest  trees,  besides  a  great  many  smaller 
bushes.  Before  cutting  down  a  tree,  they  mark  it 
all  round  at  the  height  at  which  they  wish  to  cut  it. 
They  begin  to  cut  at  the  opposite  side  to  which  they 
intend  the  tree  shall  fall,  invariably  making  it  fall 
with  the  top  to  the  water.  Where  they  grow  near 
enough,  they  make  them  fall  across  the  stream  or 
dam,  causing  many  to  suppose  that  they  are  so 
placed  to  form  a  bridge,  whereby  they  may  cross 
from  one  side  of  the  water  to  another.  They  do  not 
require  a  bridge,  they  can  swim,  and  rather  than 
cross  over  a  prostrate  tree  they  dive  under  it.  My 
impression  is  they  are  so  placed  to  break  the  current 
of  the  water  when  the  stream  is  flooded  ;  also  if  con- 
venient they  take  advantage  of  building  a  dam  where 
some  of  the  trees  lie  across  the  water.  Those  lying 
across  in  their  principal  dam  are  utilized  in  storing  up 
their  winter  food,  these  stores  being  built  on  the 
upper  side  of  the  trees,  so  that  they  cannot  be  swept 
away  with  the  winter  flood. 

"When  cutting  the  trees  they  use  their  teeth,  on 
the  same  principle  that  a  forester  does  an  axe,  always 
keeping  plenty  of  open  space,  so  that  they  can  cut 
past  the  centre  of  the  tree  on  one  side  before  begin- 
ning on  the  other.  It  is  in  the  latter  end  of  autumn 
they  commence  to  cut  down  trees  for  winter  food. 
Having  cut  them  down,  they  speedily  strip  off  the 
branches,  cutting  them  into  lengths  to  suit  their 
strength  for  dragging  them  away  to  the  dam,  where 
they  store  them  in  different  places  near  their  house, 
so  that  they  may  have  sufficient  food,  although  the 


5  8  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

dam  may  be  frozen  over,  or  the  ground  covered  with 
snow.  What  is  left  of  the  trunks  of  the  trees  that 
they  cannot  drag  away,  they  feed  on  at  leisure,  eating 
the  bark. 

"Besides  the  work  above  ground  which  I  have  tried 
to  describe,  they  have  done  a  great  amount  of  under- 
ground work,  such  as  cutting  channels  in  their  darns, 
and  making  burrows.  These  burrows  they  make  by 
cutting  a  road  from  the  middle  of  the  dam  for  several 
yards  into  the  dry  ground,  where  they  scoop  out  a 
dome-shaped  burrow  from  eight  to  ten  inches  above 
the  level  of  the  road,  then  cut  a  hole  through  the 
surface  and  cover  it  over  with  sticks  and  grass  so  as. 
to  act  as  a  ventilator.  Here  they  live  and  feed  in 
security  and  contentment.  Some  of  the  roads  to 
these  burrows  are  from  fifteen  to  twenty  yards  long, 
and  so  level  that  the  water  follows  them  in  the  whole 
length. 

"  As  to  the  time  they  bring  forth  their  young,  from 
my  own  knowledge,  I  cannot  say.  I  have  seen  it 
stated  to  be  January,  and  also  the  beginning  of  May. 
I  can  say  nothing  against  that,  judging  from  the  size 
of  the  young  when  I  first  saw  them  in  the  second 
week  of  June,  the  oldest  litter  being  about  the  size 
of  a  full-grown  rabbit,  and  the  youngest  not  half  that 
size. 

"  From  careful  observation,  I  have  good  reasons  for 
believing  they  have  only  one  at  a  birth.  One  thing 
I  am  certain  of,  they  have  two  litters  in  the  season. 
Beavers  are  a  class  of  animals  that  are  very  timid, 
their  sight,  scent,  and  hearing  very  keen,  so  much 


THE  BE  A  VER.  59 

HO  that  it  is  with  great  caution  they  can  be  approached 
near  enough  to  see  what  they  are  doing.  They  are 
under  cover  all  day  from  seven  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing till  seven  in  the  evening.  When  one  comes  out, 
it  floats  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  carefully  survey- 
ing the  whole  scene  around,  sniffing  the  air,  and  if  no 
danger  is  apprehended  it  dives  and  disappears.  In 
two  or  three  minutes,  a  number  of  the  colony  begin 
to  appear  and  disperse  themselves,  some  to  swim  and 
sport  about  in  the  dam,  while  others  go  in  quest  of 
food.  If  one  of  them  espies  danger  it  strikes  one 
sharp,  loud  stroke  on  the  water  with  its  tail,  when 
all  of  them  that  are  out  come  tumbling  into  the  dam 
and  disappear. 

"  I  have  seen  them  wrestle  in  playfulness  and  fight 
in  anger,  and- also  when  the  mother  was  feeding  and 
the  young  one  sporting  about  in  the  dam,  I  have  seen 
it  go  and  begin  to  tease  her,  when,  if  she  did  not  wish 
to  be  troubled  with  it  she  would  strike  and  shake  it, 
and  pitch  it  from  her  in  the  dam.  They  will  allow 
of  no  laziness  in  any  member  of  the  colony  ;  if  any 
such  there  be,  they  are  beaten  and  driven  out  to  live 
as  best  they  may.  These  so  driven  out  generally 
roam  about,  making  a  burrow  here  and  there,  wrhere 
they  live  for  a  few  months  and  die." 

This  is  not  the  only  experiment  which  has  been 
made  of  late  years  in  the  reintroduction  of  Beavers 
into  this  country.  A  similar  attempt  was  previously 
made  in  Suffolk.  Some  Beavers  were  turned  down 
by  Mr.  Barnes,  of  Sotherley  Park,  Wangford,  and, 
on  their  dams  being  destroyed  as  nn  eye- sore,  they 


Co  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

strayed  further  down  the  stream  which  runs  through 
the  park.  They  were  there  two  winters,  and  bred, 
having  three  or  four  young  ones.  Two  of  these, 
which  strayed,  were  killed  at  Beriacre  in  the  spring 
of  1872,  and  one  was  captured.  They  began  to  build 
a  lodge  in  the  West  Bush  against  Benacre  Broad, 
did  no  damage  to  trees,  but  destroyed  some  under- 
wood. This  third  Beaver  seems  to  have  been  also 
killed.  Two  of  the  three  were  sent  to  London  to  be 
stuffed  for  Lady  Gooch,  and  the  head-keeper  took 
the  skin  of  the  third. 

It  is  interesting  to  find  that,  but  for  the  inter- 
ference of  man,  Beavers  would  still  thrive  in  our 
climate,  as  we  learn  from  geology  and  history  they 
formerly  did. 


A   15EAYKR    AT   WORK. 


6  i 


THE   REINDEER 

Cervus  tamndns. 

ABOUT  the  time  that  the  Beaver  was  building  its 
dams  on  the  rivers  of  Wales  and  Scotland,  there  was 
fast  becoming  extinct  in  North  Britain  another 
animal,  whose  singular  form  is  perhaps  better  known 
than  that  of  most  animals,  from  its  being  amongst 
the  earliest  presented  to  youthful  naturalists  in  their 
first  zoological  picture  books — for  who  does  not  re- 
collect the  portrait  of  the  Laplander  with  his  Reindeer 
in  a  sledge  ? 


62  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

This  animal  was  one  of  the  earliest  arrivals  on 
British  soil  after  the  ice  and  snow  of  the  glacial 
epoch  began  to  disappear,  and  it  is  in  caverns  and 
river  gravels  and  sands  of  post-glacial  age  that  we 
first  meet  with  its  remains.  Its  abundance  in 
British  deposits  of  this  date  is  very  remarkable. 
Professor  Boyd  Dawkins  has  found  portions  of  its 
bones  and  horns  in  no  less  than  thirteen  out  of 
twenty-one  caverns  examined  by  him,  while  the  Red- 
deer  was  only  found  in  seven  ;  thus,  contrary  to  what 
is  generally  assumed  to  be  the  case,  the  Reindeer 
predominated  in  numbers  over  the  Red-deer  at  the 
time  the  British  bone  caverns  were  being  filled. 

In  the  post-glacial  river  deposits  the  same  numeri- 
cal preponderance  of  the  Reindeer  is  observed.  It 
has  been  found  in  the  gravels  of  Brentford,  in  a 
railway  cutting  at  Kew  Bridge,  and  higher  up  the 
Thames  in  a  gravel  bed  at  Windsor,  where,  in  the 
spring  of  1867,  numerous  remains  were  discovered. 
On  visiting  the  spot  with  the  discoverer,  Capt. 
Luard,  R.E.,  Professor  Boyd  Dawkins  found  that 
more  than  one-half  of  the  remains  belonged  to  the 
Reindeer,  the  rest  to  Bisons,  Horses,  Wolves,  and 
Bears.  They  had  evidently  been  swept  down  by 
the  current  from  some  point  higher  up  the  stream.* 
In  illustration  of  this  accumulation  he  quotes  a 
parallel  case  from  the  observations  of  Admiral  Yon 
Wrangel  in  Siberia,  who  remarks  :f — "  The  migrating 

*  "  Early  Man  in  Britain,"  p.  155. 

t  "  Siberia  and  the  Polar  Sea,"  translated  by  Major  Sabine,  8vo, 
1840,  p.  190.  The  obviously  exaggerated  figures  must  be  taken  to 
represent  the  vast  numbers  of  the  animals. 


THE  REINDEER.  63 

body  of  Reindeer  consists  of  many  thousands,  and 
though  they  are  divided  into  herds  of  two  or  three 
hundred  each,  yet  the  herds  keep  so  near  together  as 
to  form  only  one  immense  mass,  which  is  sometimes 
from  fifty  to  a  hundred  versts,  or  thirty  to  sixty  miles, 
in  breadth.  They  always  follow  the  same  route,  and 
in  crossing  the  river  Aniuj,  near  Plobischtsche,  they 
choose  a  place  where  a  dry  valley  leads  down  to  a 
stream  011  one  side  and  a  flat,  sandy  shore  facilitates 
their  landing  on  another.  As  each  separate  herd  ap- 
proaches the  river,  the  deer  draw  more  closely  to- 
gether, and  the  largest  and  strongest  takes  the  lead. 
He  advances,  closely  followed  by  a  few  of  the  others, 
with  head  erect,  and  apparently  intent  on  examining 
the  locality.  When  he  has  satisfied  himself  he  enters 
the  river,  the  rest  of  the  herd  crowd  after  him,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  the  surface  is  covered  with  them. 
Wolves,  bears,  and  foxes  hang  upon  the  flanks  and 
rear  of  these  great  migratory  bodies,  and  prey  upon 
the  stragglers,  and  invariably  many  casualties  occur 
at  the  fords  where  the  weak  or  wounded  animal  is 
swept  away  by  the  current." 

A  graphic  account  is  given,  by  the  same  author,  of 
the  migration  of  Keindeer  as  observed  by  him  in  his 
journey  through  the  stony  Tundra,  near  the  river 
Baranicha,  in  north-eastern  Siberia. 

"I  had  hardly  finished  the  observation/ 'he  writes, 
"  when  my  whole  attention  was  called  to  a  highly 
interesting,  and  to  me  a  perfectly  novel  spectacle. 
Two  large  migrating  bodies  of  Eeindeer  passed  us  at 
no  great  distance.  They  were  descending  the  hills 


64  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

from  the  north-west,  and  crossing  the  plain  on  their 
way  to  the  forests,  where  they  spend  the  winter. 
Both  bodies  of  deer  extended  further  than  the  eye 
could  reach,  and  formed  a  compact  mass  narrowing 
towards  the  front.  They  moved  slowly  and  majesti- 
cally along,  their  broad  antlers  resembling  a  moving 
wood  of  leafless  trees.  Each  body  was  led  by  a  deer 
of  unusual  size,  which  my  guides  assured  me  was 
always  a  female.  One  of  the  herds  was  stealthily 
followed  by  a  Wolf,  who  was  apparently  watching  for 
an  opportunity  of  seizing  any  one  of  the  younger  and 
weaker  deer  which  might  fall  behind  the  rest  ;  but 
on  seeing  us  he  made  off  in  another  direction.  The 
other  column  was  followed  at  some  distance  by  a 
large  black  Bear,  who,  however,  appeared  only  intent 
on  digging  out  a  mouse's  nest  every  now  and  then — 
so  much  so  that  he  took  no  notice  of  us." 

On  the  warrantable  assumption  that  migrations  of 
a  similar  character  formerly  took  place  in  this 
country,  the  large  assemblage  of  animal  remains  at 
the  Reindeer-ford  at  Windsor  is  easily  accounted  for. 
In  the  gravels  on  which  Oxford  stands,  says  Professor 
Boyd  Dawkins,  the  Reindeer  is  found  in  greatest 
abundance;  at  Bedford  it  is  associated  with  flint 
implements,  the  Red-deer,  and  Hippopotamus ;  at 
Lawford,  near  Rugby,  with  the  Cave  Hyoena ;  at 
Fisherton,  near  Salisbury,  with  the  Cave  Lion,  Urus, 
Roedeer,  Marmot,  and  Lemming ;  in  Kent  also  it  is 
abundant  in  the  brick  earth  of  Sittingbourne  and 
Maidstone ;  in  Somerset  in  the  gravels  of  the  Avon 
near  Bath.  Altogether,  it  has  been  determined  in 


THE  REINDEER.  65 

ten  out  of  eighteen  rivor  deposits  wliicli  have  fur- 
nished fossil  mammals,  while  the  Red-deer  has  been 
found  only  in  nine."" 

During  the  arctic  severity  of  the  post-glacial  climate 
the  remains  of  the  Red-deer  were  rare,  while  those 
of  the  Reindeer  were  most  abundant.  During  the 
pre-historic  period  the  Red-deer  gradually  increased 
in  numbers,  while  the  Reindeer  as  gradually  became 
extinct.  In  its  rarity  in  the  latter  epoch  we  have 
proof  of  the  great  climatal  change  that  had  taken 
place  in  France  and  Britain. 

Professor  Owen,  in  his  "  British  Fossil  Mammals," 
has  figured  a  skull  with  antlers  of  the  Reindeer 
found  in  a  peat- moss  on  Bilney  Moor,  near  East 
Dereham,  Norfolk,  and  he  gives  a  figure  also  of  a 
metatarsal  bone  of  this  animal  from  the  fens  of 
Cambridgeshire.  During  the  excavation  that  was 
made  for  the  reservoir  of  the  southern  outfall  of  the 
metropolitan  sewage  at  Crossness  Point,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Thames,  near  Erith,  a  fine  antler  of  the 
Reindeer  was  discovered  at  the  bottom  of  a  layer  of 
peat  varying  from  five  to  fifteen  feet  in  thickness, 
along  with  the  remains  of  Beaver  and  a  human  skull. 
Another  antler  was  found  in  a  shell  marl  underlying 
the  peat  near  Whit tington  Hall,  Lancashire.  Leigh, 
in  his  "Natural  History  of  Cheshire"  (Bk.  III.  p.  84), 
notices  a  horn  of  the  Reindeer  which  was  found 
under  a  Roman  altar  at  Chester. 

In  Ireland,  as  we  learn  from  a  '  Report  on  Irish 
Fossil  Mammals'  by  Dr.  Leith  Adarns  ("  Proc.  Roy. 

*  Boyd  Dawkins,  Popular  Science  Review,  January,  1868. 


66  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

Irish  Acad.,"  1877,  2nd  ser.  vol.  iii.*),  remains  of  the 
Reindeer  have  been  found  in  shell-marl  under  the 
Bog  of  Bally guiry,  near  Dungarvan,  co.  Waterford  ; 
in  the  mud  of  Lough  Gur,  co.  Limerick  ;  and  in  clay 
under  peat  at  Ballybetagh,  near  Kiltiernan,co.  Dublin, 
where  in  1847  the  skull,  horns,  and  lower  jaw  of  a 
Reindeer  were  discovered  by  Mr.  Moss.  But  the 
most  remarkable  discovery  of  remains  of  this  animal 
in  Ireland  was  that  made  in  1861,  when  -a  very 
perfect  skull,  with  the  antlers  still  attached,  was 
found  on  the  edge  of  the  Curragh  Bog,  near  Ash- 
bourne,  co.  Dublin.  This  was  brought  to  the  notice 
of  the  Royal  Dublin  Society  by  Dr.  Carte  in  1863, 
and  is  regarded  as  the  finest  specimen  of  Reindeer 
which  has  yet  been  found  in  a  fossil  state. t 

Dr.  Carte  has  also  noticed  three  antlers,  found  at 
Coonagh,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Shannon,  in  co. 
Clare.  A  large  number  of  remains,  representing  at 
least  thirty-five  individuals,  were  found  in  Shandon 
Cave,  near  Dungarvan,  associated  with  the  bones  of 
other  animals.  |  These  specimens  have  all  been 
preserved,  either  in  the  museum  of  Trinity  College, 
or  in  the  Museum  of  Science  and  Art,  Dublin  ;  and 
a  noteworthy  character  of  the  horns  is  the  uniformity 
of  the  beam,  which  is  slender  and  round,  as  in 
English  specimens  and  in  the  existing  Reindeer  of 

*  See  also  a  paper  by  the  same  author  on  '  Recent  and  Extinct 
Irish  Mammals,'  "  Proc.  Boy.  Dub.  Soc.,"  March,  1878. 

t  Carte,  "  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.  Dub.,"  vol.  x.,  p.  103,  pi.  vii.;  and  Geol. 
Mag.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  546. 

J  Carte,  "  Journ.  Roy.  Dub.  Soc.,"  vol.  ii.  p.  12 ;  and  Leith  Adams, 
•"  Trans.  Eoy.  Irish  Acad.,"  vol.  xxvi.,  p.  217. 


THE  REINDEER.  67 

Norway,  and  unlike  the  flattened  antlers  of  the 
Siberian  stock/* 

As  regards  its  occurrence  in  Scotland,  much 
valuable  information  has  been  brought  together  by 
Dr.  John  Alexander  Smith,  in  a  memoir  published 
in  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of 
Scotland,"  and  entitled  '  Notice  of  Remains  of  the 
Reindeer  (Cervus  tarandus),  found  in  Ross-shire, 
Sutherland,  and  Caithness,  with  notes  of  its  occur- 
rence throughout  Scotland. 't 

In  1866  part  of  a  horn  (apparently  the  tine 
that  springs  from  the  back  part  of  the  middle  of  the 
beam)  was  found  with  a  flint  arrowhead,  and  bones 
of  an  ox — Bos  longifrons — and  dog,  near  two  hut 
circles,  in  the  course  of  draining  the  Mor-aich  Mor, 
or  Great  Grazing,  as  the  Gaelic  words  signify — a 
flat,  sandy  tract  to  the  east  of  Tain,  Ross-shire, 
bordered  on  the  north  by  the  Domoch  Firth.  % 

These  bones,  which  lay  beneath  the  moss  on  a 
natural  shell  bed  at  no  distance  below  the  surface 
(the  drainage  being  only  carried  to  the  depth  of  four 
feet),  were  forwarded  for  examination  to  Prof.  Owen, 
who  had  no  hesitation  in  identifying  the  horn  re- 
ferred to  as  that  of  a  Reindeer. 

Several  similar  fragments  were  found  on  clearing 
out  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  circular  fort  or  "  brocli" 


*  Leith Adams,  "Beport  on  Irish  Fossil  Mammals,"  I.e.  Comparative 
figures  of  the  horns  of  Lapland  and  Siberian  Eeindeer  are  given  in 
Murray's  "  Geographical  Distribution  of  Mammals,"  pp.  152,  153.  See 
also  Sir  Victor  Brooke,  "Proc.  Zool.  Soc."  1878,  p.  927,  tig.  19. 

t  "Proc.  Soc.  Antiq.  Scotl.,"  vol.  viii.  pp.  186-223. 

£  Rev.  J.  M.  Joass,  "Proc.  Soc.  Antiq.  Scotl.,"  vol.  vi.  p.  386. 

F 


68  EXTINCT  BRI'IISH  ANIMALS. 

at  Kintradwell,  near  Brora,  Sutherlandshire,  together 
with  the  remains  of  domesticated  animals  (as  oxen 
and  swine),  an  iron  spear-head  and  dagger,  and  ten 
human  skeletons.*  These  notices  are  regarded  by 
Dr.  Smith  as  the  first  which  have  recorded  the  dis- 
covery of  Reindeer  remains  associated  with  human; 
dwellings  in  the  British  Islands. 

Pennant,  in  his  "  History  of  Quadrupeds"  (vol.  L 
p.  100,  1781),  has  referred  to  some  fossil  horns  of  the 
Reindeer,  which,  on  the  authority  of  Dr.  Ramsay,. 
Professor  of  Natural  History  in  Edinburgh,  are 
stated  to  have  been  found  in  a  marl  pit  five  feet 
below  the  surface,  near  Craigton,  Linlithgowshire. 
Dr.  John  Scouler,  of  Glasgow,  also,  has  described 
some  fragments  of  Reindeer  horns  from  the  alluvium 
of  the  Clyde.  These  were  found  in  beds  of  finely 
laminated  sand  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river,  below 
the  junction  of  the  Kelvin,  where  also  was  discovered 
the  cranium  of  a  large  ox  (Bos  primigenius] . 

In  the  Hunterian  Museum,  Glasgow,  amongst  a 
collection  of  deer  horns,  is  preserved  a  fragment  of 
the  left  antler  of  a  Reindeer,  which  was  found  in 
boulder  clay  at  Raesgill,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Clyde,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Carluke. 

When  the  loch  of  Marlee,  in  the  parish  of  Kinloch, 
Perthshire,  had  been  partly  drained  for  the  sake  of 
the  marl,  some  very  interesting  animal  remains  came 
to  light,  amongst  others  the  skeleton  of  a  Beaver, 
already  referred  to,  and  a  pair  of  horns  and  some 

*  See  '•  Proc.  Soc.  Antiq.  Scotl.,"  vol.  v.  p.  242. 


THE  REINDEER.  69 

leg  bones  of  the  Reindeer.*  These  are  probably  the 
bones  referred  to  in  the  old  Statistical  Account  of 
Scotland  (vol.  xvii.  p.  478),  as  having  been  found  in 
Mr.  Farquharson's  marl-pit  at  Marlee,  and  surmised 
to  be  those  of  the  Elk. 

Dr.  Smith  has  figured  the  smooth  beam  of  a 
right  horn  of  a  young  or  female  Reindeer  (torn,  dt., 
p.  23),  taken  from  a  cutting  of  the  Forth  and  Clyde 
Junction  Railway,  in  the  basin  of  the  Endrick,  near 
Croftamie,  Dumbartonshire.  This  specimen,  which 
was  identified  by  Professor  Owen,  was  not  in  the 
boulder  clay,  but  in  a  bed  of  blue  clay,  about  seven 
feet  thick,  below  it,  between  the  boulder  clay  and  the 
underlying  rock  of  the  district. 

Again,  on  the  farm  of  Greenhill,  near  Kilmaurs, 
Ayrshire,  some  antlers  of  a  large  Reindeer  were  found 
thirty- six  feet  below  the  surface,  together  with  a 
tusk  of  the  Mammoth,  t 

The  late  Sir  William  Jardine  had,  a  few  years 
since,  an  opportunity  of  examining  some  very  interest- 
ing animal  remains,  which  were  exhumed  at  Shaws, 
about  four  miles  from  his  residence  in  Dumfriesshire. 
Besides  several  bones  of  the  Red  deer,  Roedeer,  Bos 
primigenius  (the  last  named  rare),  and  a  very  perfect 
skull  of  the  Brown  Bear,  already  referred  to,  was  a 
portion  of  an  antler,  which,  from  its  outline,  flattened 
character,  and  smooth  surface,  could  have  belonged 
only  to  a  Reindeer ;  it  measured  about  twelve 

*  Neill,  "  Mem.  Wern.  Nat.  Hist.  Soc.,"  vol.  iii.  p.  214. 
f  See  Geikie,  '  Memoir  on  the  Phenomena  of  the  Glacial  Drift  of 
Scotland,'  "Trans.  Geol.  Soc.  Glasgow,"  vol.  i.  p.  71  (1863). 

F  2 


70  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

inches  long  by  four  and  a  half  inches  in  its  greatest 
breadth. 

In  1865  Sir  Philip  Egerton  met  with  a  small 
fragment  of  an  tier  in  a  peat  hag  in  Ross-shire,  which, 
according  to  Professor  Boyd  Dawkins,  "  beyond  all 
doubt  belonged  to  this  animal. " 

The  last  instance  which  we  shall  notice  of  the  dis- 
covery of  Reindeer  remains  in  Scotland  has  reference 
to  the  county  of  Caithness  ;  and  we  take  this  last 
because  it  leads  directly  to  a  consideration  of  the 
historical  evidence  which  is  to  be  found  concerning 
the  former  existence  of  this  animal  in  ScotlancT,  and 
which  evidence  relates  exclusively  to  this  country. 

Dr.  Smith,  in  the  memoir  referred  to,  has  de- 
scribed at  some  length  the  ancient  circular  forts  or 
"brochs"  which  are  to  be  met  with  in  some  parts  of 
Scotland,  and  which  in  several  instances  have  yielded 
such  very  interesting  relics  of  pre-historic  man. 
Amongst  these  is  the  "  broch "  of  Yarhouse,  in 
Caithness,  about  five  miles  to  the  sotith  of  Wick,  on 
the  estate  of  Thrumster,  and  at  the  south  end  of 
the  Loch  of  Yarhouse.  Of  this  Dr.  Smith  has  given 
a  very  full  description,  from  notes  by  Mr.  Anderson 
and  Mr.  Robert  Shearer,  of  Thrumster,  who  care- 
fully examined  it,  and  his  remarks  are  illustrated  by 
a  ground  plan,  which  renders  his  account  the  more 
instructive.  When  the  examination  of  this  "broch" 
first  commenced,  it  was  to  all  appearance  nothing 
but  a  grass-covered  mound,  and  was  situated  on 
what  had  once  besn  an  island,  a  fosse  about  twenty 
feet  broad  having  separated  it  from  the  land.  It 


THE  REINDEER.  71 

would  be  beside  our  present  purpose  to  refer  in 
detail  to  the  many  interesting  objects  which  were 
brought  to  light  on  opening  up  this  mound.  Suffice 
it  to  say  that  (in  addition  to  human  remains,  bones 
of  domesticated  animals,  shells  of  periwinkle,  limpet, 
and  cockle,  coarse  hand-made  pottery  and  rude  stone 
implements)  the  smooth  flattened  horns  of  the  Rein- 
deer came  to  light,  showing  that  this  animal  was 
either  domesticated  by  the  dwellers  in  the  "  broch," 
or  at  all  events  was  hunted  by  them,  and  used  for 
food. 

Under  very  similar  conditions,  other  remains  of 
the   Reindeer  have   been  exhumed   from  the  Har- 


FKAGMENTS  OP  REINDEER  HORN,   CAITHNESS.* 

bour  Mound  at  Keiss  Castle,  also  in  Caithness,  a 
full  account  of  which  may  be  found  in  Laing's 
"  Pre-historic  Remains  of  Caithness,"  and  a  briefer 
notice  in  Dr.  Smith's  paper  above  referred  to. 
Now,  this  discovery  of  the  remains  of  Reindeer  asso- 

*  Copied  from  the  Memoir  referred  to,  by  permission  of  Dr.  J.  A. 
Smith  and  the  Society  of   Antiquaries  of  Scotland. 


72  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

elated  with  man  in  Caithness  is  of  especial  interest, 
as  tending  to  confirm  the  truth  of  the  tradition  that 
the  jarls  of  Orkney  in  the  twelfth  century  were  in 
the  habit  of  crossing  the  Pentland  Firth  for  the 
purpose  of  hunting  the  Red-deer  and  the  Reindeer 
in  the  wilds  of  Caithness. 

Torfseus,  in  his  history  of  Orkney  ("  Orcades,  sen 
Rerum  Orcadensium  Historia,"  Lib.  I.  cap.  xxxvi.), 
written  at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
thus  translates  a  passage  from  the  "  Orkneyinga 
Saga  :"  "  Consueverant  Comites  in  Catenesiam^ndeque 
ad  montana  ad  venatum  caprearum  rangiferorum.que 
quotannis profiscisi."  Dr.  Fleming,  in  his  "History 
of  British  Animals,"  published  in  Edinburgh  in 
1828,  quoting  this  passage,  remarks  that  "it  would 
lead  to  the  belief  that  Reindeer  once  dwelt  in 
the  mountains  of  Caithness,  were  it  not  extremely 
probable  that  Red-deer  were  intended."  Dr- 
Hibbert  also,  who  has  written  an  elaborate  critique 
upon  the  subject,*  was  at  first  inclined  to  think 
that  Torfaeus  had  made  a  mistake  here,  and  that 
he  should  have  stated  "  the  Roe-deer  and  the 
Red-deer,"  instead  of  "the  Roe  and  the  Reindeer." 
But  a  learned  Icelander,  Jonas  Jonseus,  who  in 
1780  published  an  abstract  and  Latin  translation 
of  the  Saga,-\  has  explained  the  manuscript  sources 

*  '  On  the  Question  of  the  Existence  of  the  Eeindeer  during  the 
Twelfth  Century  in  Caithness,'  in  Brewster's  Edinb.  Journ.  of  Science, 
New  Series,  vol.  v.  p.  50. 

•f  "  Orkneyinga  Saga  sive  Historia  Orcadensium  :  Saga  hins  Helga 
Magnusa  Eyia  Jarls,  sive  Yita  Sancti  Magni  Insulai-um  Comitis 
Islandice  et  Latine,"  edidit  J.  Jonaeus,  4to,  Hafniae,  1780,  p.  384. 


THE  REINDEER.  73 

from  which  Torfseus  derived  his  account,  and  has 
shown  that  the  animals  hunted  by  the  jarls  of 
Orkney  were  in  reality  not  the  Hoe,  but  the  Red- 
deer,  and  the  Reindeer,  living  at  the  same  time  in 
that  part  of  Scotland.  The  original  passage  runs 
thus :  "  Thar  var  sithr  Jarla  naer  hvert  sumar  at 
fara  yfer  a  Katanes  oc  tliar  upp  a  merkr  at  veida 
Rauddyri  edr  Hreina;"  which  is  translated  by  Jona3iis 
as  follows:  " Solebant  Comites  quavis  fere  estate  in 
Katenesum  transire,  ibique  in  desertis  feras  rubras  et 
ranyiferos  venari  " — the  jarls  of  Orkney  were  in  the 
habit  of  crossing  over  to  Caithness  almost  every 
summer,  and  there  hunting  in  the  wilds  the  Red- 
deer  and  the  Reindeer." 

Dr.  Hibbert  accepts  this  version  of  Jonseus,  and 
so  also  does  Professor  Brandt  of  St.  Petersburgh. 
In  the  English  edition  of  Jon,  A.  Hjaltalin.  and  G. 
Goudie  (Edinb.,  1873,  p.  182),  the  words  are  trans- 
lated :  "  Every  summer  the  Earls  were  wont  to  go 
over  to  Caithness  and  up  into  the  forests  to  hunt 
the  Red-deer  or  the  Reindeer."  An  eminent  Ice- 
landic scholar,  however,  Mr.  Eirikr  Magnusson  of 
Cambridge,  is  of  opinion  that  neither  version  is 
quite  correct  as  regards  the  latter  words,  the  literal 
translation  being :  "It  was  the  custom  for  the  Earls 
nearly  every  summer  to  go  over  into  Caithness  and 
then  up  into  the  woods  to  hunt  Red-deer  or  reins." 

Mr.  Magnusson  further  observes  that  the  word 
cdr  has  two  meanings,  equivalent  to  the  Latin  sive 
and  vel,  and  he  therefore  considers  it  uncertain 
whether  the  proper  reading  is  that  they  went  to 


74  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

hunt  either  Eed-deer  or  Reindeer,  or  whether,  as 
appears  to  him  more  likely,  the  Saga  man  was  under 
the  impression  that  rauddyr  and  hrein  were  syno- 
nymous terms."" 

The  author  of  the  Saga,  says  Professor  Boyd 
Dawkins,  must  have  been  well  acquainted  with  the 
animal  in  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Iceland,  and  there 
seems  nothing  improbable  in  the  natural  inference 
that  the  animal  they  called  reindeer  undoubtedly 
was  one.  The  inclement  hills  of  Caithness  lie  in  the 
same  parallel  of  latitude  as  the  south  of  Norway  and 
Sweden,  in  which  the  animal  was  living  at  the  time  ; 
and  its  food,  the  brushwood,  and  especially  the  rein- 
deer moss  (Cladonia  rangiferina)  is  still  found  exten- 
sively over  Scotland.  Indeed,  the  abundance  and 
variety  of  lichens  is  specially  noted  as  a  peculiarity  in 
the  Statistical  Account  of  the  parish  of  Wick,  where 
the  reindeer  moss  is  stated  to  grow  to  the  height  of 
three  or  four  inches  among  the  heather. 

The  jarls  of  Orkney  referred  to  (Rognvald  and 
Ha  raid),  according  to  Jonoeus,  hunted  in  Caithness 
in  1 1 59. 

There  is  another  point  worth  notice,  as  remarked 
by  Professor  Boyd  Dawkins. t  "The  Reindeer  is  men- 
tioned in  the  Orkneyinga  Saga  along  with  the  Red- 
deer.  At  the  present  -day  these  animals  occupy 
different  zoological  provinces ;  so  that  the  fact  of 
their  association  in  Caithness  would  show  that  in  the 
twelfth  century  the  Red-deer  had  already  appropriated 

*  Alston,  "  Fauna  of  Scotland"  (Mammalia),  p.  36  (1880). 
t  Popular  Science  Eevieiv,  1868,  p.  43. 


THE  REINDEER. 


75 


the  pastures  of  the  Reindeer,  which  could  not  retreat 
further  on  account  of  the  sea,  and  was  fast  verging  on 
extinction.  From  Linnseus's  time  down  to  the 
present  day,  even  in  Sweden  and  Norway,  it  has  been 
retreating  further  and  farther  north." 

That  it  formerly  existed  in  Orkney  may  be  sur- 
mised from  the  discovery  of  an  antler  in  the  island  of 
Rousay,  where  it  was  found  embedded  in  peat  some 
distance  below  the  surface.  This  horn,  about  three 
feet  in  length,  as  we  learn  from  Dr.  J.  A.  Smith,  was 


AXTLER  OF   KEIKDEEK,  ORKNEY. 

brought  from  Orkney  by  Dr.  Arthur  Mitchell  and 
was  presented  by  him  to  the  Museum  of  the  Society 
of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland,  by  whose  permission  it  is 
here  figured. 

It  is  true  that  Dr.  Smith  has  some  little  hesitation 
in  regarding  it  as  the  horn  of  an  animal  indigenous 
to  the  Orkneys,  in  consequence  of  a  rumour  to  the 
effect  that  a  former  proprietor  of  Rousay  had  im- 
ported two  or  three  Reindeer  into  that  island. 
He  probably  refers  to  Mr.  Traill.  Against  this,  how- 


76  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

ever,  it  may  be  urged  that  the  fact  of  the  horn 
having  been  found  "deep  down  below  the  surface" 
seems  opposed  to  the  theory  of  recent  origin. 

Several  attempts  have  been  made  from  time  to 
time  to  reintroduce  the  Reindeer  in  Great  Britain, 
but  without  much  success.  Sir  Henry  Liddell,  who 
made  a  tour  through  Sweden  and  Lapland,  brought 
five  Reindeer  to  his  estate  in  Northumberland, 
where  they  bred,  and  for  some  time  seemed  likely 
to  thrive ;  but  they  did  not  live  long.*  Fleming 
refers  to  an  experiment  of  the  kind  made  by  the 
Duke  of  Athole  ("Hist.  British  Animals," V  27), 
and  Scrope  says  the  Earl  of  Fife  introduced  some 
into  the  great  forest  of  Marr  in  Aberdeen  shire 
("  Days  of  Deerstalking,"  p.  406).  But  they  all 
died,  notwithstanding  their  being  turned  out  on 
the  summits  of  the  hills,  which  are  covered  with 
dry  moss,  and  on  which  it  was  supposed  they  would 
be  able  to  subsist.  Some  years  previously  to  this, 
a  similar  experiment  had  been  tried  in  Orkney, 
where  Mr.  Robert  Traill,  in  1816,  turned  out  three 
Reindeer,  a  male  and  two  females,  which  he  had  im- 
ported from  Archangel.  But  they  soon  died,  towards 
the  end  of  winter — from  want,  it  was  believed, 
of  their  proper  food,  in  addition  to  the  supposed 
unsuitability  of  the  climate.  It  is  stated  by  Messrs. 
Baikie  and  Heddle  t  that  "not  being  found  to 
answer  the  purposes  intended,  they  were  allowed  to 
die  out." 

*  Consett's  "Tour  through  Sweden,"  p.  152. 
f  "  Hist,  Nat.  Orcadensis,"  p.  19. 


77 


THE   WILD  BOAR. 

Sits  scrofa. 

THE  Wild  Boar  is  one  of  the  oldest  forest  animals  in 
Britain,  and  one  of  which  we  find  the  earliest 
mention  in  history.  Characteristic  figures  of  it 
appear  on  ancient  British  coins,*  and  it  is  one  of  the 
earliest  animals  figured  in  Celtic  works  of  art.f 
Britons,  Romans,  Saxons,  and  Normans  all  hunted  it 

*  Evans's  "  British  Coins,"  pis.  vi.,  viii.,  xi.,  xii.,  and  xiii. 

f  "  Horae  Ferales,"  p.  185,  pi.  xiv. ;  Montellicr,  "  Memoires  sur  les 
Bronzes  Antiques,"  Paris,  1865;  and  Stephens'  "Literature  of  the 
Kymry,"  p.  250. 


7  8  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

here  in  turns.  Figures  of  the  wild  boar  are  found 
on  Roman  monuments  in  England  ;  Pennant  has 
noticed  one  such  at  Ribehester,  formerly  a  famous 
Roman  station.  "It  is  supposed,"  he  says,  "to 
have  been  an  honorary  inscription  to  Severus  and 
Caracalla,  by  the  repetition  of  the  address.  It  was 
done  by  a  vcxillatio  of  one  of  the  legions  quartered 
here.  A  stone  fixed  in  the  wall  of  a  small  house 
near  the  church  gives  room  to  suppose  that  it 
belonged  to  the  twentieth.  The  inscription  is 
LEG.  XX.  W.  EEC.,  and  on  one  side^  is  the 
sculpture  of  a  Boar,  an  animal  P  have  in  two 
other  instances  observed  attendant  on  the  inscrip- 
tions made  by  the  famous  Legio  vicessima  valens 
victrix."* 

Nor  should  we  omit  to  notice  the  Roman  altar 
which  was  found  in  1749  near  Stanhope,  in  the 
bishopric  of  Durham,  usually  referred  to  as  the  Wear- 
dale  altar,  and  dedicated  by  a  grateful  Roman  prefect 
to  the  god  Sylvanus  for  the  capture  of  an  enormous 
Boar,  which  many  of  his  predecessors  had  in  vain 
attempted  to  destroy.  On  this  altar  was  discovered 
the  following  inscription  : — "  Sylvano  invicto  sacrum 
.  .  .  .  ob  Aprum  eximicc  formce  captum,  quern  multi 
antecessores  ejus  pra'dari  non  potucrunt"  A  similar 
altar,  also  dedicated  to  Sylvanus  by  the  hunters  of 
Banna,  was  found  at  Birdoswald,  in  Northumber- 
land, t 


*  "  Tour  to  Alston  Moor,"   1801,  p.  93.     See  also  Horsley,  "  Bri- 
tannia Romana,  or  the  Roman  Antiquities  of  Britain,"  folio,  1732. 
f  "Wright,  "  The  Celt,  the  Roman,  and  the  Saxon,"  pp.  207,  267. 


THE   WILD  BOAR.  79 

Aubrey  lias  given  a  minute  account  of  a  sculp- 
tured representation  of  hunting  the  wild  boar,  over 
a  Norman  doorway  at  Little  Langford  Church.  This 
bas-relief  is  figured  in  Hoare's  "Modern  Wiltshire." 

After  the  expulsion  of  the  Danes,  and  during  the 
short  restoration  of  the  Saxon  monarchy,  the  sports  ot 
the  field  still  maintained  their  ground,  and  hunting 
and  hawking  were  favourite  pastimes.  A  painting  on 
a  MS.  of  the  ninth  century,  in  the  Cotton  Library, 


V.'ILD   BOAR    HCNTING.      FROil    A.   MS.    OF   THE   NINTH   CENTURY. 

represents  a  Saxon  chieftain,  attended  by  his  hunts- 
man and  a  couple  of  hounds,  pursuing  wild  boars 
through  a  wood.* 

In  the  "  Colloquy  of  Alfric,"  a  hunter  of  one  of  the 
royal  forests  gives  a  curious  account  of  his  profession. 
When  asked  how  he  practises  his  craft,  he  replies  : 
"  I  braid  nets  and  set  them  in  a  convenient  place,  and 
set  on  my  hounds,  that  they  may  pursue  the  beasts  of 
chase,  until  they  come  unexpectedly  to  the  nets,  and 
so  become  entangled  in  them,  and  I  slay  them  in  the 
nets."  He  is  then  asked  if  he  cannot  hunt  without 

*  Strutt's  "  Sports  and  Pastimes,"  p.  5,  fig.  i. 


So  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

nets,  to  which  he  replies :  "  Yes,  I  pursue  the  wild 
animals  with  swift  hounds."  He  next  enumerates 
the  different  kinds  of  game  which  the  Saxon  hunter 
usually  hunted — "  I  take  harts,  and  boars,  and  deerr 
and  roes,  and  sometimes  hares."  "Yesterday,"  he 
continues,  "  I  took  two  harts  and  a  boar  ....  the 
harts  with  nets,  and  I  slew  the  boar  with  my  weapon." 
"  How  were  you  so  hardy  as  to  slay  a  boar  ?"  "  My 
hounds  drove  him  to  me,  and  I,  there  facing  himr 
suddenly  struck  him  down."  "You  were  very  bold, 
then."  "  A  hunter  must  not  be  timid,  foi;  various- 
wild  beasts  dwell  in  the  woods." 

The  Welsh  laws  of  Howel  Dha  (A.D.  940,  fide 
Spelman  and  Llwyd,)  provided  (cap.  xvi.  §  10)  that 
the  wild  boar  should  be  hunted  between  the  ninth 
of  November  and  the  first  of  December,  but  later  on, 
in  Edward  II. 's  time  the  season  for  hunting  the 
boar  was  between  Christmas  Day  and  Candlemas 
Day  (Feb.  2). 

Edward  the  Confessor,  whose  disposition  seems  to 
have  been  suited  rather  to  the  cloister  than  to  the 
throne,  would  join  in  no  secular  amusement  but  the 
chase.  According  to  William  of  Malmesbury,*  he 
took  the  greatest  delight  to  follow  a  pack  of  swift 
hounds  in  pursuit  of  game,  and  to  cheer  them  with 
his  voice.  He  had  a  royal  palace  at  Brill,  or  Brehull, 
Bucks,  to  which  he  often  repaired  for  the  pleasure  of 
hunting  in  his  forest  of  Bernwood.  This  forest,  it  is 
said,  was  much  infested  by  a  wild  boar,  which  was 

*  "  Hist.  Eeg.  Anglorum,"  Lib.  II.,  cap.  xiii. 


THE   WILD  BOAR.  81 

at  last  slain  by  one  Nigell,  a  huntsman,  who  pre- 
sented the  boar's  head  to  the  king ;  and  for  a 
reward  the  king  gave  him  one  hide  of  arable  land, 
called  Derehyde,  and  a  wood  called  Hulewood,  with 
the  custody  of  the  forest  of  Bern  wood,  to  hold  to  him. 
and  his  heirs  by  a  horn,  which  is  the  charter  of  the 
aforesaid  forest.  Upon  this  land  Nigell  built  a  lodge 
or  mansion-house,  called  Borestall,  in  memory  of  the 
slain  boar.  For  proof  of  this,  in  a  large  folio 
vellum  book,  containing  transcripts  of  charters  and 
evidences  relating  to  this  estate  (supposed  to  have 
been  written  in  or  before  the  reign  of  Henry  VI.), 
is  a  rude  delineation  of  the  site  of  Borestall  House 
and  manor,  and  under  it  the  figure  of  a  man 
presenting  on  his  knees  to  the  king  the  head  of  a 
boar  on  the  point  of  a  sword,  and  the  king  returning 
to  him  a  coat  of  arms,  argent,  a  fesse,  gules,  between 
two  crescents,  and  a  horn,  vert. 

The  same  figure  of  a  boar's  head  was  carved  on 
the  head  of  an  old  bedstead,  now  remaining  in  the 
tower  or  lodge  of  that  ancient  house  or  castle,  and 
the  arms  are  now  to  be  seen  in  the  windows,  and  in 
other  parts.  And,  what  is  of  greatest  authority,  the 
original  horn,  tipped  at  each  end  with  silver  gilt, 
fitted  with  wreaths  of  leather  to  hang  about  the  neck, 
with  an  old  brass  seal  ring,  a  plate  of  brass  with  the 
sculpture  of  a  horn,  and  several  lesser  plates  of  silver 
gilt,  with  fleur-de-lys,  has  been  all  along  preserved  by 
the  lords  of  Borestal),  under  the  name  of  "  NigelTs 
horn,"  and  was  in  the  year  1773  in  the  possession  of 
John  Aubrey,  Esq.  (son  and  heir  of  Sir  Thomas 


32  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

Aubrey,  Bart.),  to  whom  this  estate  descended 
without  alienation  or  forfeiture,  from  before  the 
Conquest,  by  several  heirs  female  from  the  family  of 
Nigell  to  that  of  Aubrey." 

At  the  Conquest,  Inglewood  Forest  was  held  by 
the  Scots,  from  whom  it  was  taken  by  the  Conqueror, 
and  given  to  Ranulph  de  Meschines,  who  made  a 
survey  of  the  whole  country,  and  gave  his  followers 
all  the  frontiers  bordering  on  Scotland  and  North- 
umberland, retaining  to  himself  the  central  part 
between  the  east  and  west  mountains,  described 
as  "a  goodly  great  forest  full  of  woods,  red-deer 
and  fallow,  wild  boars,  and  all  manner  of  wild 
beasts."t 

A  forest  law  of  William  I.  ordained  (A.D.  1087) 
that  any  one  found  guilty  of  killing  a  stag,  roebuck, 
or  wild  boar  should  be  deprived  of  his  eyes. 

Henry  I.  was  especially  fond  of  boar-hunting, 
as  we  learn  from  Holinshed,  who  stigmatizes  it 
as  "a  verie  dangerous  exercise;"  and  Edward  I. 
made  several  grants  of  land,  which  were  held 
by  the  serjeanty  of  keeping  or  providing  boar- 
hounds. 

Robert  de  Avenel,  who  lived  A.D.  1153 — 1 165,  in. 
granting  the  right  of  pasturage  in  Eskdale  to  the 
monks  of  Melrose,  reserved  to  himself  the  right  to 
pursue  the  wild  boar,  deer,  and  stag.J 

A  curious  story  referring  to  a  wild  boar  hunt  at 

*  "  Archaeologia,"  vol.  iii.  pp.  3,  15  ;  Kennett's  "Paroch.  Antiq.," 
and  Blount's  "Ancient  Tenures,"  p.  243  (ed.  1815). 
t  Longstafie,  "  Durham  before  the  Conquest." 
J  Morton,  "  Monastic  Annals  of  Teviotdale,"  pp.  273,  274. 


THE   WILD  BOAR.  83 

this  very  period,  in  Eskdale,  is  related  by  Blount  in 
his  "Ancient  Tenures  "  (p.  557,  ed.  1815).  He  says 
that  in  the  fifth  year  of  Henry  II.  the  lord  of  Ugle- 
barnby,  William  de  Bruce,  the  lord  of  Snaynton, 
Ralph  de  Percy,  and  a  gentleman  freeholder  named 
Allotson,  met  on  the  i6th  October  to  hunt  the  Wild 
Boar  in  a  certain  wood  called  '  Eskdale-side,'  belong- 
ing to  the  Abbot  of  the  monastery  of  Whitby,  by 
name  Sedman. 

"  Then  the  aforesaid  gentlemen  did  meet  with 
their  hounds  and  boar-staves  in  the  place  aforesaid, 
and  there  found  a  great  wild  boar  ;  and  the  hounds 
did  run  him  very  hard  near  the  chapel  and  hermitage 
of  Eskdale-side,  where  there  was  a  monk  of  Whitby 
who  was  a  hermit.  The  boar,  being  so  hard  pursued, 
took  in  at  the  chapel  door,  and  there  laid  him  down 
and  died  immediately.  The  hermit  shut  the  hounds 
out  of  the  chapel,  and  kept  himself  at  his  meditation 
and  prayers,  the  hounds  standing  at  bay  without. 
The  gentlemen  in  the  thick  of  the  wood,  following 
the  cry  of  the  hounds,  carne  to  the  hermitage,  and 
found  the  hounds  round  the  chapel.  Then  came  the 
gentlemen  to  the  door  of  the  chapel,  and  called  on 
the  hermit,  who  did  open  the  door,  and  then  they  got 
forth,  and  within  lay  the  boar  dead,  at  which  the 
gentlemen,  in  a  fury  because  their  hounds  were  put 
out  of  their  game,  ran  at  the  hermit  with  their  boar- 
staves,  whereof  he  (subsequently)  died.  Then  the 
gentlemen,  knowing  and  perceiving  that  he  was  in 
peril  of  death,  took  sanctuary  at  Scarborough  ;  but 
at  that  time  the  Abbot,  being  in  great  favour  with 

G 


84  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

the  King,  did  remove  them  out  of  the  sanctuary, 
whereby  they  came  in  danger  of  the  law,  and  not 
privileged,  but  like  to  have  the  severity  of  the  law, 
which  was  death."  But  the  hermit,  being  a  holy  man 
and  at  the  point  of  death,  interceded  for  them.  On 
the  loth  December  he  senb  for  them  and  for  the 
Abbot,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  latter  forgave  them 
freely,  begged  that  they  might  not  suffer  the  penalty 
which  they  had  incurred,  but  perform,  instead,  a 
penance,  (fully  described  by  Blount)  which,  he  then 
and  there  enjoined  them ;  and  having  uttered  a 
prayer,  he  sank  back  and  died  ? 

Fitz  Stephen,  who  wrote  his  description  of  London 
in  1174  (see  Introduction,  p.  5),  says  that  the 
forest  by  which  London  was  then  surrounded  was 
frequented  by  Boars  as  well  as  various  other  wild 
animals. 

Edward  III.  hunted  the  Wild  Boar  in  Oxfordshire, 
as  we  may  infer  from  the  following  translation  of  a. 
record  of  the  tenure  of  land  in  that  county  by  the 
service  of  finding  the  king  in  "boar-spears"  when- 
ever he  carne  to  hunt  there : — 

"Anno  1339,  I3th  and  I4th  Edward  III.,  an 
inquisition  was  taken  on  the  death  of  Joan,  widow 
of  Thomas  de  Musgrave  of  Blechesdon,  wherein 
it  appears  that  the  said  Joan  held  the  moiety 
of  one  messuage,  and  one  carucate  of  land  in 
Blechesdon  of  the  King  ;  by  the  service  of  carryino- 
one  boar-spear  (unam  hastam  porci),  price  twopence, 
to  the  King,  whenever  he  should  hunt  in  the  park 
of  Cornbury  ;  and  do  the  same  as  often  as  the  King 


THE   WILD  BOAR.  85 

should  so  hunt,   during   his   stay  at  his    manor  of 
Wodestock."* 

A  quaint  illustration  of  the  mode  of  attacking  a 
Boar,  copied  from  MS.  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
which  is  preserved  in  the  Douce  collection,  is  given 
by  Strutt  in  his  "  Sports  and  Pastimes,"  and  is  here 
reproduced. 


S1'K.VRIXG   A   BOAR.      FROM   A   MS.   OP   THE   FOURTEENTH   CEXTURX. 

The  Boar  was  a  badge  of  Edward  III.,  and  might 
therefore  have  been  borne  by  any  of  his  descendants ; 
but  Richard  III.  is  the  only  one  to  whom  its  adoption 
has  been  traced,  t 

In  the  Privy  Purse  Expenses  of  Elizabeth  of  York, 
eldest  daughter  of  Edward  IV.  and  consort  of 
Henry  VII. ,  is  the  following  entry  under  date  23rd 
Nov.  1 502  : — 

Itm.  the  same  day  to  a  servaunt  of  Sr.  Gilbcrtcs  Talbottes  in 
rcwardc  for  bringing  a  wylde  bore  to  the  Quene xs. 

And  in  the  "Household  Book"  kept  by  the  steward 
of    Squire    Kitson    of    Hengrave,    county    Suffolk, 

*  Kennet,  "  Parochial  Antiquities,"  p.  450.  By  some  unaccountable 
mistake  Kenuct  translates  unam  hastam  porci  "  one  shield  of  brawn," 
and  his  view  is  adopted  by  Blount,  "  Ancient  Tenures,"  p.  97. 

The  use  of  "  Bore-speres"  in  Norfolk,  A.D.  1 450-5 1,  is  referred  to  in 
the  "  Fasten  Letters,"  ed.  Gairdner,  vol.  i.  pp.  107,  271. 

f  " Archaeologia,"  vol.  v.  p.  17;  Hawkins,  "English  Coins,"  p.  278. 

G  2 


86  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

beginning    1st  October,   1572,   we   find  under  date 
January,  1573,  tins  item: — 

"  To  Miles  Mosse  for  a  bore  which,  he  is  charged  to  deliver  every 
Christemas  as  rent  rated  to  the  value  of  vs,  for  which  he  paid  xxs, 
and  so  there  was  allowed  of  that  vs." 

To  judge  by  the  remains  of  the  animal  which  have 
been  found  in  various  parts  of  the  British  Islands, 
Wild  Boars  at  one  time  must  have  completely  over- 
run the  country.  They  were  hunted  in  al^  the  great 
forests,  and  in  ancient  surveys  they  are  often  men- 


SKULL  OF   A   WILD   BOAR.        (i  NAT.   SIZE).* 

tioned  amongst  the  wild  animals  of  the  district  sur- 
veyed. 

Thus  Erdeswick,  who  began  his  survey  of  Staf- 
fordshire about  1593,  speaking  of  Chartley,  says, 
"  The  park  is  very  large,  and  hath  therein  red  deer, 
fallow  deer,  wild  beasts  (i.e.,  wild  cattle),  and  swine." 
In  the  peat  mosses  of  Northumberland  and  West- 
moreland, skulls  and  bones  of  the  Wild  Boar  have 

*  From  a  specimen  in  the  Museum  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons. 


THE   WILD  BOAR.  87 

been  frequently  exhumed,*  as  well  as  in  the  peat  at 
Newbury,  Berks,  and  Romsey,  Hants,  t 

Leland  tells  us  that  at  Blakeley,  Lancashire,  "  wild 
bores,  bulls,  and  falcons  bredde  in  times  paste,"  and 
there  is  close  to  Blakeley  a  place  still  called  "  Boar's 
Green."  Leland  also  speaks  of  "  Wild  Bores  or 
Swyne"  on  one  of  the  Scilly  Islands  (Itin.  second  ed. 
vii.  1 08)  ;  but  the  animals  referred  to  were  probably 
domestic  swine  which  had  been  introduced  there, 
and  had  run  wild.  At  Great  Grimsby  an  annual 
quit  rent  of  £  i  35.  46?.  is  still  paid  to  the  Corporation 
of  Grimsby  in  respect  of  a  wood  where  formerly  it 
possessed  the  right  of  hunting  the  Wild  Boar,  a  pay- 
ment presumed  to  be  an  acquittal  from  the  burden 
of  having  to  provide  one  of  these  animals  for  the 
corporation  to  hunt.  "  The  seal  of  the  mayor  of 
"Great  Grimsby  bears  the  legend  Sigillum  majoritatis 
de  Grimesby,  and  contains  a  representation  of  a  Boar 
closely  pursued  by  a  dog,  behind  which  is  a  hunts- 
man winding  his  horn.  This  device  is  descriptive  of 
a  privilege  enjoyed  by  the  mayor  and  burgesses  of 
Grimsby,  of  hunting  in  the  woods  of  the  adjacent 
manor  of  Bradley,  the  lord  of  which  was  by  his 
tenure  obliged  to  provide  yearly  a  Wild  Boar  for 
their  diversion.  These  seals  have  long  been  laid 
aside  and  others  adopted,  containing  the  arms  of  the 
corporation: — azure,  a  chevron,  sable,  between  three 
boars'  heads ;  the  shield  surrounded  by  a  festooned 

*  Some  remarkably  fine  tusks  of  the  Boar,  found  in  Cresswell 
Moss,  are  preserved  at  Middleton  Hall,  near  Wooler,  the  seat  of  Mr. 
G.  H.  Hughes. 

f  Collet,  "Phil.  Trans.,"  1757,  p.  112. 


88  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

border,  gules,  with  a  narrow  edge,  vert.  Above  are 
two  oak-branches  crossed,  proper,  embowering  an 
escallop  shell,  azure."* 

In  the  Museum  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons 
are  preserved  two  of  the  inferior  incisors,  and  the 
right  and  left  lower  canines  of  a  Wild  Boar  which, 
with  a  quantity  of  hazel  nuts,  were  transmitted  to 
John  Hunter  in  May,  '1787,  by  Mr.  Jones,  of 
Abingdon,  accompanied  by  a  letter  in  the  following 
terms : — 

"  The  inner  jaw  of  a  Wild  Boar  or  some  other  ani- 
mal, and  the  nuts  which  I  have  taken  the  liberty  to 
enclose  in  the  box,  were  a  few  days  since  found  about 
ten  feet  under  ground  by  a  labourer  as  he  was  dig- 
ging peat  or  turf.  Several  single  tusks  have  been 
found,  and  they  were  all  worn  in  the  manner  you 
will  observe  these  to  be  at  the  extremities ;  and  the 
quantity  of  nuts  was  very  considerable  :  they  seemed 
to  lay  in  a  layer  of  white  sand  between  the  strata  of 
peat.  From  whence  could  they  come  ?  Is  it  possible 
they  could  remain  there  ever  since  the  deluge  ? 

(Signed)  W.  JONES. 

"Abingdon,  Berks..  May  23rd,  1787." 

"  The  layer  of  sand  and  nuts  extended  upwards  of 
eighteen  feet  horizontally. " 

In  the  same  Museum,  specimen  No.  1079,  is 
the  left  inferior  tusk  of  a  Wild  Boar  (Sus  scrofa) 

*  Allen,  "Hist.  Co.  Lincoln"  (1830),  vol.  ii.  p.  241. 


THE   WILD  BOAR.  89 

exhumed,  eight  or  ten  feet  from  the  surface,  out  of 
the  peat  meadows,  half  a  mile  west  of  Newbury  in 
Berkshire,  presented  by  Mr.  Alexander,  surgeon, 
Newbury. 

A  good  account  of  this  locality,  under  the  name  of 
the  "  Peatpit  near  Newbury,"  is  contained  in  a  letter 
dated  February  24,  1757,  from  Dr.  John  Collet  to 
the  Bishop  of  Ossory,  which  is  printed  in  the  "  Philo- 
sophical Transactions"  for  1757  (p.  109). 

Many  localities  seem  to  indicate  by  their  name 
the  former  haunts  of  this  once  common  animal. 
Brancepeth  Castle,  Durham,  appears  to  have  derived 
its  name  (Bran's  path),  from  a  noted  Boar  which 
infested  that  neighbourhood.  Swindon,  Swinford, 
Swinfield,  and  Swindale  ;*  "  Wild  Boar  Fell "  in 
Westmoreland,  particularly  described  by  Pennant,  t 
and  "Wild  Boar  Clough"  in  Cheshire,  are  all  names 
suggestive  of  the  ancient  haunts  of  this  animal.  So 
also  are  Hogmer  (Hants),  Eversham  and  Everley, 
(from  eofor,  a  boar),  Boarhunt  (Hants),  and  Boars- 
ford  (Hereford). 

Prior  to  the  introduction  of  Christianity  into 
Scotland,  the  country  by  which  St.  Andrews  is 
surrounded  wore  the  aspect  of  a  forest,  in  which  a 
few  patches  of  cultivated  ground  seem  to  have  been 
interspersed.  In  this  forest  the  hog  or  swine  in  its 
wild  state  abounded  ;  and  from  this  circumstance  it 
was  denominated  by  the  Picts,  who  at  that  period 

*  Some  interesting  notes  on  the  names  of  places  commencing  with 
*' Swin"  will  be  found  in  The  Antiquary,  vol.  i.  pp.  47,  94,  139,  234, 
and  vol.  ii.  p.  84.  f  "  Torn-  to  Alston  Moor,"  p.  134. 


90  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

occupied  the  east  coast  of  Scotland,  Macros — mite  in 
their  language,  which  was  the  Celtic  or  Gaelic,  signi- 
fying a  sow  or  boar,  and  ros  a  peninsula  or  promon- 
tory. The  correctness  of  this  derivation  is  said  to  be 
confirmed  by  the  fact  that  near  the  extremity  of  the 
parish  the  village  of  Boarhills  still  retains  the 
original  name  of  the  district,  but  translated  into  the 
modern  language.  Boethius,  however,  states  (fol. 
272)  that  the  land  in  question  was  given  to  the  See 
of  St.  Andrews  by  Alexander  the  First  about  1124, 
and  was  named  "the  Boar's  chase"  (cursus  apri)  in 
consequence  of  an  enormous  Boar,  which  had  done 
great  damage  in  the  neighbourhood,  having  been 
pursued  and  eventually  killed  there.*  He  further 
adds  that  its  huge  tusks,  measuring  twelve  inches 
long,  and  three  in  their  greatest  width,  were  pre- 
served as  trophies,  and  chained  to  the  high  altar  of 
St.  Andrews. t  His  words  are  : — "  Auxit  [Alexander] 
quoque  facilitates  sacrce  cedis  D.  Andrea?,  cum  aliis 
quibusdam  prcediis,  turn  eo  agro  cui  nomen  est  'Apri 
cursus,'  ab  apro  immensi  magniludinis,  qui  edita  homi- 
num  et  pecorum  ingenti  strage,  scepe  nequicquam  a 
venatoribus,  magno  ipsorum  periculo,  petitus,  tandem 
ab  armata  multitudine  invasus,  per  hunc  agrum  pro- 
fugiens  confossus  est."  He  adds  -.—"Extant  immanis 
hujus  bellua  indicia,  denies,  quos  maxillis  cxsertos 
habent,  admirandce  magnitudmis  longitudinis  enim 


*  See  also  Spotswood,  "  Hist.  Church  of  Scotland"  (1665),  p.  134; 
and  Martine,  "Keliquiaa  Divi  Andrese"  (1797),  p.  94. 

t  "  New  Statist.  Acct.  Scotland,"  vol.  k.  p.  449.  The  arms  of  tho 
city  of  St.  Andrews  represent  a  boar  leaning  against  a  tree. 


THE  WILD  BOAR.  91 

sunt  1 6  diyitoruni  et  latitudinis  4,  relegati  catenulis  ad 
cellas  Dlvi  Andrew"* 

Reference  to  a  Boar-hunt  in  Scotland  at  an  earlier 
date  than  this,  however,  is  to  be  found  in  a  Latin 
MS.  history  of  the  Gordon  family,  dated  1545, 
compiled  from  older  MSS.  by  John  Ferrarius,  of 
Piedmont,  a  monk  in  the  Abbey  of  Kinloss,  Moray- 
shire,  who  also  wrote  a  Supplement  to  the  work  of 
Boethius.  A  copy  of  the  MS.  referred  to  made  for  Sir 
Robert  Gordon  in  1613  and  entitled  "  Historian  com- 
pendium de  origine  et  encremento  Gordonicv  families  in 
Scotia,  apud  Kinloss,  anno  1545,"  is  preserved  in  the 
Advocates'  Library,  Edinburgh,  and  from  this  we 
learn  that  amongst  those  who  assisted  Malcom  III. 
of  Scotland  against  the  English  about  the  year  1057 
was  one  Gordon,  who  some  time  previously  had  slain 
a  fierce  Boar  which  had  committed  great  depreda- 
tions in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Forest  of  Huntly. 
For  this  act  of  prowess  he  was  rewarded  by  the 
King,  who  bestowed  upon  him  the  lands  of  Gordon 
and  Huntly,  and  sanctioned  his  carrying  on  his 
banner  three  boars'  heads,  or,  in  a  field,  azure.  In 
the  English  translation  of  this  work,  from  which 
Pennant  quoted  (vide  antea,  p.  19),  the  animal  slain 
by  Gordon  is  called  a  Bear,  but  this,  as  we  have 
already  shown  (p.  24),  was  the  Scottish  pronunciation 
of  Boar,  and  reference  to  the  Latin  original  shows 
that  the  animal  in  question  was  unmistakably  a  Boar, 

*  This  must  have  been  a  splendid  pair  of  tusks.  The  Roman  digit, 
it  should  be  remembered,  was  the  sixteenth  part  of  a  foot ;  and  these 
tusks  were  doubtless  measured  along  the  outside  curve. 


92  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

immanent  aprum,  and  that  the  heads  upon  the 
banner  were  likewise  boars'  heads — tria  aprorum 
capita  aurea. 

In  the  Highlands,  the  existence  of  the  Wild  Boar 
is  generally  and  familiarly  remembered.  Its  names — 
Fiadh-Chullach  (genericallythe  wild  hog),  Fiadh-Thorc 
(the  Sanglier  or  Wild  Boar),  Fiadh  Mhuc  (the  Wild 
Sow) — are  still  well  known,  and  traces  of  its  times 
and  locality  are  retained  in  tradition,  ancient  poetry, 
and  the  names  of  many  places  denominated  from  its 
haunts,  as  Slochd-Tuirc,  the  boar's  den,  Druim-an- 
Tuirc,  the  boar's  ridge,  and  Beannan  Tuirc,  the  boar's 
mountain.* 

On  the  west  side  of  Benin -glo,  Perthshire,  are  two 
places  called  "  Carn-torey  "  and  "  Coire-torey  " — i.e., 
the  hill  and  the  hollow  of  Boars  ;  in  the  same  county 
is  the  Boar's  Loch  (Loch-an-tuirc).f  Traces  of 
this  animal  have  been  found  in  Gordon  parish, 
Berwickshire,  where  land  is  said  to  have  been 
granted  by  William  the  Conqueror  to  one  who 
killed  a  certain  Wild  Boar  which  infested  the 
district.]; 

In  Ireland  swine  existed,  both  in  a  wild  and 
domesticated  state,  from  the  very  earliest  times,  and 
have  ever  since  contributed  largely  to  the  wealth  of 
the  people.  The  Wild  Boar  (Tore  fiadhairi)  abounded 
in  the  woods,  which  formerly  covered  a  large  portion 
of  the  country,  and  fed  upon  the  acorns  and  beech- 

*  Stuart,  "  Lays  of  the  Deer  Forest,"  ii.  p.  217. 
t  "  Old  Statist.  Acct.  Scotland,"  vol.  ii.  p.  478. 
J  Ibid.,  vol.  viii.  p.  53. 


THE   WILD  BOAK.  93 

mast ;  hence  the  frequent  mention  in  the  ancient 
annals  of  Ireland,  of  the  failure  of  these  crops,  as 
well  as  the  years  in  which  they  abounded.* 

The  earliest  account  known  of  the  wild  animals  of 
Ireland  is  to  be  found  in  a  tract  De  mirabilibus  Sacrce 
Scriptura',  written  by  an  Irish  ecclesiastic  named 
Augustine  about  the  middle  of  the  7th  century,  and 
amongst  other  ferce  natures,  Wild  Boars  (sylvaticos 
porcos)  are  especially  mentioned.! 

Among  the  restrictions  put  upon  one  of  the  kings 
of  Ulster  in  the  Leabhar  na  g-Ceart,  or  "  Book  of  the 
Rights  and  Privileges  of  the  Kings  of  Erin,"  was  that 
he  was  not  to  go  into  the  Wild  Boar's  hunt,  or  to  be 
seen  to  attack  it  alone.  Giraldus  Cambrensis,  in  his 
Topographic  Hibernice,  says,  "In  no  part  of  the  world 
have  I  seen  such  an  abundance  of  boars  and  forest 
hogs.  They  are,  however,  small,  misshapen,  wary, 
no  less  degenerated  by  their  ferocity  and  venomous- 
ness  than  by  the  formation  of  their  bodies." 

As  regards  their  size,  the  statement  of  Giraldus  has 
been  confirmed  by  palaeontologists.  Compared  with 
veritable  specimens  of  the  ancient  Wild  Boar  of 
Northern  Europe,  as  found  in  the  peat  mosses  of 
Scandinavia,  especially  in  Zeeland,  the  Irish  Wild 
Boar  appears  to  have  been  a  very  diminutive  animal. 
(Wilde,/,  c. )  Dr.  Seoul er  asserts  that  they  continued 

*  Wilde,  "  Proc.  Roy.  Irish  Acad.,"  vol.  vii.  p.  208. 

t  The  brief  allusion  made  in  this  tract  to  the  fauna  of  Ireland,  as 
quoted  by  Reeves  ("Proc.  Roy.  Irish  Acad."  1861)  is  as  follows: — 
"  Qnis  cnim,  verli  gratia,  lupos,  cervos,  et  sylvaticos  porcos  et  vulpcs, 
taxones  ct  lepuscnlos  ct  sesquivolos  in  Hibcrniam  dcvcncrct."  This  is 
one  of  the  very  few  sources  of  information  quoted  in  this  volume 
which  we  have  been  unable  to  examine  and  verify. 


94  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

to  be  plentiful  in  Ireland  down  to  the  seventeenth 
century,  but  the  exact  date  of  their  extinction  he 
was  unable  to  ascertain."" 

Many  places  in  Ireland  are  called  after  the  Wild 
Boar,  as  Sliabh-na-muice  in  Tipperary  ;  Gleann-na- 
muice-duibhe  near  Newry ;  Ceann-tuirc  in  the  Co. 
Cork.  Muckross  and  Tore,  also,  at  Killarney,  are  de- 
rived from  the  same  root.  The  word  Muckalagh 
enters  largely  into  Irish  topographical  names,  and 
signifies  a  place  where  pigs  feed — probably  on  acorns. 
(Wilde,  I.e.} 

Tusks  of  Wild  Boars,  dug  up  in  Ireland,  according 
to  Thompson,  are  often  of  goodly  dimensions. t 

Several  attempts  have  been  made  to  reintroduce 
these  animals  for  the  purpose  of  hunting,  but,  from 
various  causes,  none  of  the  experiments  proved  very 
successful.  In  some  instances  they  throve  well  and 
increased,  but  the  opposition  of  those  whose  crops 
they  damaged  was  fatal  to  their  existence  for  any 
length  of  time.  Charles  I.  imported  some  from 
France,^  an(^  turned  them  out  in  the  New  Forest, 
where,  according  to  Aubrey,  "  they  much  encreased, 
and  became  terrible  to  the  travellers."  However, 
"  in  the  civill  warres,"  he  says,  "  they  were  destroyed, 

*  "  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.  Dublin,"  vol.  i.  p.  226.  See  also  Wilde, 
"  Proc.  Roy.  Irish  Acad.,"  vol.  vii.  p.  208. 

f  "  Nat.  Hist.  Ireland,"  vol.  iv.  p.  36. 

J  Gilpin  says  "  from  Germany."  He  confirms  Aubrey's  statement 
as  to  their  increase  in  the  New  Forest,  and  adds  that  "  there  is  found 
there  at  this  day  (1791)  a  breed  of  hogs,  commonly  called  forest  pigs, 
which  are  very  different  from  the  usual  Hampshire  breed,  and  have 
about  them  several  of  the  characteristic  marks  of  the  Wild  Boar." — 
Forest  Scenery,  vol.  ii.  pp.  168-169  (ed.  Lauder). 


THE   WILD  BOAR.  95 

but  they  have  tainted  all  the  breed  of  the  pigges  ot 
the  neighbouring  partes,  which  are  of  their  colour;  a 
kind  of  soot  colour."*  This  was  written  in  1689. 
Evelyn,  in  a  note  to  this  passage,  observes  :  "  There 
were  Wild  Boars  in  a  forest  in  Essex  formerly.  I 
sent  a  Portugal  boar  and  sow  to  Wotton  in  Surrey, 
which  greatly  increased  ;  but  they  digged  the  earth 
so  up,  and  did  such  spoyle,  that  the  country 
would  not  endure  it  :  but  they  made  incomparable 
bacon." 

At  a  later  period,  as  recorded  by  Gilbert  White, 
General  Howe  turned  out  some  German  Wild  Boars 
in  the  forests  of  Wolmer  and  Alice  Holt,  of  which 
he  had  a  grant  from  the  Crown  ;  but,  as  White 
says,  "  the  country  rose  upon  them  and  destroyed 
them."t 

The  late  Earl  of  Fife,  who  tried  many  experiments 
in  introducing  different  animals  into  the  Forest  of 
Marr,  turned  out  some  Wild  Boars  by  the  advice 
of  the  Margrave  of  Anspach,  who  was  at  Marr 
Lodge  on  a  visit  ;  but  the  experiment  in  this  case 
did  not  answer,  for  want  of  acorns,  their  principal 


Forty  years  ago,  Mr.  Drax,  of  Charborough  Park, 
Dorsetshire,  made  a  similar  experiment.  Two  pairs, 
one  from  Russia  the  other  from  France,  were  originally 
turned  out  in  the  woods  at  Charboro',  and  after  remain- 
ing there  several  years  they,  or  their  descendants, 

*  Aubrey,  "Nat.  Hist.  Wilts,"  p.  59. 

f  "  Nat.  Hist,  of  Selborne,"  Letter  ix.  to  Pennant. 

t  Serope's  "  Art  of  Deer  Stalking,"  p.  406. 


96  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

were  removed  to  Morden,  a  few  miles  distant. 
The  Russian  breed  was  wilder  and  more  ferocious 
than  the  French.  The  litters,  which  averaged  from 
10  to  12,  were  not  interfered  with,  but  ran  wild  with 
their  parents.  They  were  not  hunted  but  caught 
in  nets  or  shot.  Writing  to  a  mutual  friend  in 
September,  1879,  Mr.  Drax  says  :  "I  fenced  them  in 
with  a  wood  paling  in  the  wood  where  I  built  the 
present  tower,  and  used  to  shoot  them.  The  latter 
part  of  the  time  I  kept  them  at  Morden  Park,  and 
bred  a  lot  of  them,  feeding  them  on  turnips  and  corn. 
They  were  savage  and  troublesome,  however,  to  keep 
within  bounds,  and  I  therefore  killed  them.  They 
were  good  eating  when  fed  upon  corn." 

Scott,  in  his  "  British  Field  Sports,"  the  second 
edition  of  which  was  published  in  1820,  says,  "Several 
Wild  Boars  of  this  accidental  kind  have  flourished 
within  my  memory  ;  in  particular  two  in  the  woods 
between  Mersey  Island  and  Colchester,  in  Essex, 
which  many  years  since  were  the  terror  of  that 
neighbourhood  for  a  considerable  time,  and  stood 
many  a  gallant  hunt."  i 

In  olden  times  the  enclosure  in  which  the  Boars 
used  to  be  fattened  was  termed  a  "Boar-frank." 
Shakespeare  uses  the  word  in  the  Second  Part  of 
Henry  IV."  : 

"  Doth  the  old  boar  feed  in  the  old  frank  ?" 

And  in  one  of  the  Household  Books  of  Lord  William 
Howard,  of  Naworth  Castle,  Cumberland,  under  date 
Sept.  25,  1622,  is  an  entry  of  payment 

"  To  Rob.  Burthom  for  mending  a  boar-frank  ....  iiijd." 


THE   WILD  BOAR.  97 

These  "  boar-franks,"  it  would  seem,  were  at  one 
time  not  uncommon  in  parts  of  Suffolk.  The 
anonymous  author  of  the  "  History  and  Antiquities 
of  the  Ancient  Villa  of  Wheatfield  in  the  County 
of  Suffolk"  (first  printed  in  4to  in  1758,  and  re- 
published  in  the  second  volume  of  Dodsley's 
"Fugitive  Pieces,"  pp.  77-1-15),  referring  to  the 
state  of  the  parish  and  the  manners  and  pursuits 
of  the  inhabitants,  remarks  : — "  The  prevailing  taste 
runs  much  upon  building  temples  to  Ctoacina  and 
menageries  for  Wild  Boars  ;  structures  in  them- 
selves beautiful,  but  at  the  expense  of  that  noble 
Roman  Way,  the  Via  Icenorum,  that  leads  through 
the  parish,  which  they  narrow  and  obumbrate." 

At  Chartley  Park,  Staffordshire  —  where,  three 
hundred  years  ago,  as  we  learn  from  Erdeswick,  wild 
swine  roamed  at  large — the  present  Earl  Ferrers 
proposed  to  reint reduce  these  animals,  having  been 
presented,  with  a  boar  by  Mr.  W.  J.  Evelyn,  of 
'VVotton  House,  near  Dorking,  and  with  a  sow  by 
Mr.  F.  H.  Salvin,  of  Whitmoor  House,  near  Guild 
ford.  The  proposed  experiment,  however,  failed,  for 
the  boar  died  on  the  road,  from  the  heat  of  the 
weather,  and  the  sow  not  long  afterwards,  from  an 
accident. 

In  Derbyshire  a  similar  attempt  at  reintroduction 
was  made  by  the  late  Sir  Francis  Darwin,  to  whose 
son,  Mr.  E.  L.  Darwin,  we  are  indebted  for  the 
following  graphic  account  of  the  experiment : — 

"My  father  (the  late  Sir  Francis  Darwin)  pos- 
sessed an  estate  in  Derbyshire,  which  consisted  of 


4)8  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

the  wildest  and  most  picturesque  land,  a  great  part 
of  which  was  naturally  wooded,  and  another  part 
artificially  planted  with  larch,  Scotch  fir,  and  spruce. 
About  the  year  1826  he  received  a  present  from 
the  late  Sir  William  Ingilby  of  a  German  Boar, 
and  from  Mr.  Michaelis  two  Alpine  boars  and  two 
sows.  The  German  boar  was  a  large,  powerful 
animal,  of  a  tawny  red  colour,  and  the  others  were 
a  dusky  black.  It  was  my  father's  intention  to 
turn  them  all  out  in  the  woods,  and  let  them  have 
the  free  run  of  about  two  hundred  acres ;  but  the 
red  boar  was  found  to  be  so  utterly  irreclaimable 
through  his  ferocity,  that,  so  far  as  he  was  concerned, 
the  idea  was  given  up,  and  the  black  boars  and  sows 
only  were  allowed  their  liberty.  A  cross  of  the  two 
breeds  was,  however,  determined  on,  and  in  sub- 
sequent years  the  sows  produced  both  red  and  black 
progeny. 

"  Although  most  formidable-looking  creatures,  the 
Alpine  boars  were  perfectly  harmless,  unless  inten- 
tionally irritated,  and  I  must  allow  that  their  tempers 
were  occasionally  tried  by  myself  amongst  others, 
when  they  could  be  teased  from  some  safe  spot. 
On  such  occasions  they  would  stand  with  one  foot 
much  advanced,  and  the  head  drawn  back,  and  the 
attitude  was  emphasized  by  a  ferocious  '  chopping' 
of  the  jaws,  till  the  foam  used  to  fall  on  the  ground, 
and  the  great  formidable  tusks  were  alarmingly 
displayed.  I  only  wonder  now  why  the  numerous 
blows  on  the  head  from  large  stones,  which  were  a 
part  of  the  performance,  were  never  revenged  when 


THE   WILD  BOAR.  99 

the  recipient  met  me  unexpectedly  and  no  refuge 
was  near.  Brought  up  in  this  wild  country,  I 
carried  a  gun  when  very  young,  and  as  I  never  went 
into  the  woods  without  one,  I  suppose  I  felt  com- 
paratively safe.  I  recollect  that  one  of  our  grooms, 
when  making  a  short  cut  through  a  fern  bed  which 
existed  on  one  part  of  the  property,  was  unexpectedly 
charged  by  a  sow,  but  he  escaped  by  the  hardest 
running.  From  her  manner  it  was  evident  that  she 
had  young  ones,  and  my  father,  myself,  and  the 
groom  and  keeper,  went  up  the  same  afternoon — a 
Sunday  it  was — and  we  discovered  a  nest  in  the 
fern -bed,  but  could  not  go  nearer  than  a  few  yards, 
as  the  sow  stood  at  the  entrance  and  forbade  any 
further  advance.  The  young  pigs  were  seen  a  week, 
or  two  afterwards,  and  they  were  all  red-coloured, 
but  with  a  few  black  up-and-down  stripes.  The  two 
old  boars  gradually  got  to  know  my  father,  and 
they  would  take  bread  from  his  hand,  and  I  have 
seen  them  rub  their  frothy  snouts  against  his  old 
shooting-jacket  pocket  when  he  has  been  sitting 
down,  as  if  asking  to  be  fed — which  no  doubt  was 
their  meaning. 

"  At  one  time  there  were  a  good  many  vipers  and 
snakes  on  the  property,  but  they  gradually  dis- 
appeared ;  and  my  father,  attributing  this  to  the 
presence  of  the  boars,  succeeded  once  in  catching  a 
full-grown  viper,  and,  having  enticed  one  of  the 
boars  into  a  shed,  threw  the  viper  down  close  to 
him.  The  viper,  instead  of  attempting  to  escape, 
at  once  came  to  "attention,"  and  the  boar,  after  a 

H 


ioo  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

preliminary  "  chop "  or  two,  dashed  at  it.  The 
viper  seemed  to  strike  him  two  or  three  times  on 
the  snout,  but  the  boar,  putting  one  foot  on  him, 
pulled  him  to  pieces  in  a  few  seconds,  and  certainly 
did  not  suffer  any  subsequent  inconvenience  from 
the  viper's  attacks.  Jack  and  Dick  (the  two  black 
boars)  died  natural  deaths,  and  their  successors  de- 
generated in  size,  and  seemed  gradually  to  become 
tame  and  spiritless ;  they  have  been  extinct  for 
forty  years  or  so.  The  old  red  boar  lived  for  some 
years  confined  in  a  large  yard,  and  at  enmity  with 
everyone ;  a  more  untam  cable  animal  there  could 
not  be.  He  came  to  an  undignified  end,  being  fed 
and  killed  like  his  tame  brethren.  After  death  he 
was  skinned  and  stuffed,  and  when  I  last  saw  him 
he  was  in  the  lumber  room  at  the  Priory,  near 
Derby,  and,  like  the  celebrated  wolf  killed  by  the 
deerhound  Gelert,  he  was  ''tremendous  still  in 
death."  The  head  of  one  of  his  grandsons  is  or  was 
in  the  Derby  Museum,  and  a  formidaKfe -looking 
object  it  is,  with  immense  tusks.  This  descendant 
died  from  eating  a  poisoned  rat  which  had  been 
thoughtlessly  thrown  to  him. 

"  The  very  last  of  the  Sydnope  boars  was  shot  in 
the  year  1837,  and  the  fact  was  recorded  in  verse, 
by  one  of  the  party,  very  humorously  and  success- 
fully." 

The  exact  date  of  the  extinction  of  the  Wild  Boar 
in  Britain  is  uncertain. 

There  were  Wild  Boars  in  Durham  in  1531-33. 
Tn  the  Accounts  of  the  Bursar  of  the  Monastery  of 


7 HE   WILD  BOAR.  101 

Durham  for  these  years  are  several  entries  of  pay- 
ments made  for  bringing  in  Wild  Boars  ;  thus  : — 

1531.     28.  Marcii.      Et  Chrislifcro  Richardson,  i  aper,  6s.  Sd. 
1 533.     Et  in  uno  apro  empto  de  Thoma  Cottijsfurth,  6s. 
Etin  uno  apro  empto  de  Thoma  Chepman,  us. 

The  price  doubtless  varying  with  the  size  and  con- 
dition of  the  animal. 

When  Henry  VIII.  visited  Wulf  hall,  Savernake, 
the  residence  of  the  Seymours,  in  1539  and  1543, 
there  were  Wild  Boars  in  the  adjoining  forest,  as  we 
learn  from  the  "Household  Book"  of  Edward  Sey- 
mour, Earl  of  Hertford,  some  extracts  of  which  have 
been  printed  in  the  Wiltshire  Archaeological  Magazine 
for  June,  1875  (pp.  171-177).*  The  following 
entries  occur : — 

"  Paid  to  Morse  and  Grammatts  for  helpyng  to  take  the 

wylde  swyne  in  the  forest 4d. 

And  for  8  hempen  halters  to  bynd  their  legs 4d. 

And  for  drink  for  them  that  helped  to  take  them   .     .     .  4d. 

Again : — 

To  Edmuud  Coke  and  Wm.  Morse  and  others  for 

sekyng  wilde  swyne  in  the  forest  2  days  .  .  .  2s.  6d. 

To  Thomas  Christopher  for  his  costes  when  he  caryed 
the  two  wilde  bores  to  the  Court  to  my  Lord 
att  Wynsor,  All-hallowen  even 3».  4d. 

In  1617,  it  was  still  to  be  found  in  Lancashire  ; 
for  when  James  I.  in  that  year  visited  Sir  Richard 
Hoghton,  at  Hoghton  Tower,  near  Whalley,  one  of 
the  dishes  with  which  the  royal  banquet  was  more 
than  once  supplied  was  "  Wild-boar  pye.'  "t 

*  An  interesting  article  on  Savernake  Forest,  by  the  Rev.  Canon 
Jackson,  will  be  found  in  tho  same  Magazine  for  August,  1880 
(pp.  26-44). 

f  Nicholls,  "Progresses,  &c.,  of  James  I.,"  vol.  in.  p.  4°2. 

H    2 


102  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

In  the  same  year  the  King  hunted  the  Boar  at 
Windsor.  Adam  Newton,  in  a  letter  to  Sir  Thomas 
Puckering,  Bart.,  dated  Deptford,  Sept.  28,  1617, 
writes:  "I  was  at  Hampton  Court  on  Sunday 
last,  where  the  Court  was  indeed  very  full ;  King, 
Queen  and  Prince  all  residing  there  for  the  time. 
The  King  and  Prince,  after  their  ccming  from 
Theobalds  this  day  sennight,  went  to  Windsor 
to  the  hunting  of  the  Wild  Boar,  and  came  back  on 
Saturday."* 

In  Westmoreland  the  last  Wild  Boar  is  said  to 
have  been  killed  near  Staveley  by  a  man  named 
Gilpin,f  the  country  round  being  at  that  time  all 
forest  and  fell.  Close  to  the  spot  indicated  is  an  inn, 
still  called  "  Wild  Boar  Inn,"  while  the  bridge  over 
the  beck  is  known  as  "Gilpin's  Bridge."  A  tradition  of 
the  former  existence  of  the  Wild  Boar  in  this  neigh- 
bourhood is  still  current,  but  no  date  can  now  be 
assigned  for  the  destruction  of  the  last  of  its  race. 
It  is  referred  to  approximately  as  "  about  200  years 
ago,"  which  carries  us  back  to  the  reign  of  Charles  II., 
and  this  is  the  latest  date  at  which  I  have  been  able 
to  find  any  mention  of  this  animal  in  a  wild 
state  in  England.  An  old  "Account  Book  of  the 
Steward  of  the  Manor  of  (/hartley :  Praeses.  Com. 
Ferrers,"  contains  the  following  entry  : — 

"  1683. — Feb.  Pd.  the  cooper  for  a  paile  for  ye  wild  swine 0-2-0  " 

This  shows  that  the  Wild  Boar  was  not  extinct  in 

*  "  The  Court  and  Times  of  James  I.,"  vol.  ii.  p.  34. 

f  It  appears  by  an  Inquisition  20  Eliz.,  that  in  this  year  William 
Gilpin  held  the  manor  of  Over  Staveley  (see  Nicholson, "  Hist,  and 
Antiq.  Westm.  and  Cumberl.,"  vol.  i.  p.  139). 


THE   WILD  BOAR. 


103 


England  so  early  as  has  been  supposed — that  is, 
previously  to  Charles  I. 'a  attempt  to  reintroduce 
it  into  the  New  Forest. 

Of  the  few  English  writers  who  have  described  the 
hunting  of  the  Wild  Boar  as  formerly  practised  in 
England,  George  Turbervile,  a  gentleman  of  Dorset - 


TRACKING   A   \VILD   BOAR.      SIXTEENTH   CENTURY. 

shire,  has  furnished  the  best  account  in  his  "  Booke 
of  Hunting,"  published  in  1575,  a  second  edition  of 
which  appeared  in  1 6 1 1 .  In  this  work,  which  is 
now  very  rare,  and  of  which  we  possess  an  im- 
perfect copy,  a  long  account  is  given  of  the  "  Wyld 
Bore"  and  its  ways.  "  Although  it  ought  not,"  he 


io4  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

says,  "to  be  counted  among  the  beasts  of  venery 
which  are  chaseable  with  hounds,  for  he  is  the 
proper  prey  of  a  mastiffe  and  such  like  dogs,  for 
as  much  as  he  is  a  heavy  beast  and  of  great  force, 
trusting  and  asseying  himselfe  in  his  tuskes  and  his 
strength,  and  therefore  will  not  so  lightly  flee  nor  make 
chase  before  hounds.  So  that  you  cannot  (by  hunting 
of  the  Bore)  know  ye  goodnesse  or  swiftness  of  them, 
and  there  withall  to  confesse  a  truth,  I  think  it  a 
great  pitie  to  hunte  (with  a  good  keriell  of  hounds)  at 
such  chases  :  and  that  for  such  reasons  and  considera- 
tions as  followe. 

"  First,  he  is  the  onely  beast  which  can  dispatch  a 
hound  at  one  blow,  for  though  other  beasts  do  bite, 
snatch,  teare,  or  rend  your  houndes,  yet  there  is 
hope  of  remedie  if  they  be  well  attended ;  but  if  a 
Bore  do  once  strike  your  hounde,  and  light  betweene 
the  foure  quarters  of  him,  you  shall  hardly  see 
him  escape  ;  and  therewithall  this  subtil  tie  he  hath, 
that  if  he  be  run  with  a  good  kenell  of  hounds, 
which  he  perceiveth  holde  in  rounde  and  followe  him 
harde,  he  will  flee  into  the  strongest  thicket  that  he 
can  finde,  to  the  end  he  may  kill  them  at  his  leisure 
one  after  another,  the  which  I  have  seene  by  experience 
oftentimes.  And  amongst  others,  I  saw  once  a 
Bore  chased  and  hunted  with  fiftie  good  hounds 
at  the  least,  and  when  he  saw  that  they  were 
all  in  full  crie  and  helde  in  round  together,  he 
turned  heade  upon  them,  and  thrust  amiddest 
the  thickest  of  them  in  such  sorte  that  he  slew 
sometimes  sixe  or  seaveii  in  [this]  manner  in  the 


THE   WILD  BOAR.  105 

twinkling,  of  an  eye:  and  of  the  fiftie  houndes 
there  went  not  twelve  sounde  and  alive  to  their 
masters  houses. 

"  Againe,  if  a  kennell  of  houndes  be  once  used  to 
hunte  a  Bore,  they  will  become  lyther,  and  will  never 
willingly  hunte  fleeing  chases  againe.  Forasmuch  as 
they  are  (by  him)  accustomed  to  hunte  with  more 
ease  and  to  find  great  scent.  For  a  Bore  is  a  beast 
of  a  very  hot  scent,  and  that  is  contrary  to  light 
fleeing  chases  which  are  hunted  with  more  paine  to 
the  hound,  and  yet  therwith  do  not  leave  so  great 
scent.  And  for  these  causes,  whosoever  meaneth  to 
have  good  hounds  for  an.  Hart,  Hare,  or  Row-deare, 
let  him  not  use  them  to  hunt  the  Bore :  but  since 
men  are  of  sundry  opinions,  and  love  to  hunte  such 
chases  as  lie  moste  commodiously  aboute  their  dwell- 
ing places,  1  will  here  describe  the  propertie  of  the 
Bore  and  how  they  may  hunt  him,  and  the  manner 
of  killing  him  either  with  the  sword  or  bore-speare, 
as  you  shall  also  see  it  set  out  in  portray  ture  hereafter 
in  his  place." 

Then  follows  a  chapter  "  of  the  nature  and  subtiltie 
of  the  Bore"  wherein  we  are  told  that  "the  Bore  is 
of  this  nature,  that  when  his  dame  doth  pigge 
him,  he  hath  as  many  teeth  as  ever  he  will  have 
whiles  he  liveth,  neither  will  their  teeth  any 
way  multiply  or  encrease  but  onely  in  greatnesse 
^ind  length.  Amongst  the  rest  they  have  foure. 
which  (with  the  Frenchmen)  are  called  defense*, 
and  we  call  them  tuskes  or  tusches,  whereof  the 
two  highest  do  not  liurte  when  he  striketh,  but 


io6  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

serve  onely  to  whet  the  other  two  lowest :  but  with 
those  lower  tuskes,  they  stryke  marvellously  and  kill 
oftentimes." 

There  is  a  difference  between  the  wild  and  tame 
swine  which,  as  may  be  supposed,  did  not  escape 
the  notice  of  huntsmen  in  olden  times,  when  the 
pursuits  of  the  chase  alone  engrossed  their  most 
immediate  attention.  The  information  which  they 
have  left  us  on  this  and  many  other  points  is  all 
the  more  valuable,  as  we  have  no  longer  the  means 
of  forming  those  comparisons  which,  from  the  expe- 
rience of  their  lives,  they  were  able  to  record  with 
accuracy. 

"  The  difference  between  the  wild  swine  and  our 
hogs,"  says  Turbervile,  "  is  great,  and  that  in  sundry 
respects.  First  they  are  commonly  blacke,  or  grisled,  or 
streaked  with  blacke,  whereas  ours[are  white,  sanded, 
and  of  all  coloures.  Therewithal  the  wyld  sywne  in 
their  gate  do  always  set  the  hinder  foote  within  the 
fore  foote,  or  very  neare,  and  stay  themselves  more  upon 
the  toe  than  upon  the  heele,  shutting  theirclaws  before 
close :  and  commonly  they  strike  their  gards  (which  are 
their  dew  clawes)  upon  the  ground,  the  which  sway  out- 
wards :  and  the  sides  of  their  hoofs  do  cut  and  pare 
the  ground,  the  which  our  swine  do  not,  for  they 
spread  and  open  their  fore  clawes  leaving  the  ground 
between  them  :  and  they  be  commonly  round  and 
worne,  leaning  and  staying  more  upon  the  heele,  than 
upon  the  toe.  Againe,  they  set  not  their  hinder  foote 
within  their  fore  foote,  and  their  gards  fall  straight 
upon  the  ground,  and  never  shoyle  or  leane  outwards  : 


THE   WILD  BOAR.  107 

and  they  do  beat  down  and  soile  the  ground  and  cut 
it  not.  Also  the  soale  of  their  feete  is  fleshy,  and 
maketh  no  plaine  print  upon  the  ground  as  the  wild 
swine  do.  There  is  likewise  great  difference  in  their 
rowtings  :  for  a  wild  swine  doth  rowt  deeper,  because 
his  snout  is  longer  :  and  when  they  come  into  corne 
fieldes  they  follow  a  furrow,  rowting  and  worming  all 
along  by  some  balke  untill  they  come  to  the  end.  But 
tame  swine  rowte  here  and  there  all  about  the  field, 
and  never  followe  their  rowting  as  the  wild  swine  do. 
Likewise  you  may  know  them  by  the  difference  in 
their  feedings  in  corne  growne  :  for  the  wild  swine 
beare  downe  the  corne  rounde  about  them,  in  one 
certaine  place,  and  tame  swine  feede  scattering  here 
and  there." 

"  The  Wild  Boar,"  says  Turbervile,  "  has  only  one 
litter  in  the  year." 

In  regard  to  the  mode  of  hunting  this  animal  as 
formerly  practised  in  England,  the  plan  seems  to 
have  been  to  follow  it  with  relays  of  hounds  until 
brought  to  bay,  and  then  to  rush  in  on  foot  or  on 
horseback,  and  despatch  it  with  sword  or  spear. 
Turbervile  says  : — "  If  he  stand  at  bay,  the  hunts- 
men must  ryde  in  unto  him  as  secretly  as  they  can 
without  much  noyse,  and  when  they  be  neare  him, 
let  them  cast  round  about  the  place  where  he 
standeth,  and  run  upon  him  all  at  once,  and  it  shall 
be  hard  if  they  give  him  not  one  skotch  with  a 
sword  or  some  wound  with  a  bore-speare :  and  let 
them  not  strike  lowe,  for  then  they  shall  commonly 
hit  him  on  the  snoute,  because  he  watcheth  to  take 


loS  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

all  blowes  upon  his  tuskes  or  thereabouts.  But  let 
them  lift  up  their  hands  high  and  strike  right 
clowne ;  and  let  them  beware  that  they  strike  not 
towards  their  horses  but  that  other  way ;  for  on  that 
side  that  a  Bore  feeleth  himself  hurte,  he  turneth  head 
strayght  waies  whereby  he  might  the  sooner  hurt  or 
kill  their  horses  if  they  stroke  towards  them.  And . 
if  they  lie  in  the  plaine,  then  let  them  cast  a  cloake 
about  their  horses,  and  they  maye  the  better  ride 
about  the  Bore,  and  strike  at  him  as  they  passe  ; 
but  stay  not  long  in  a  place. 

"It  is  a  certaine  thing  experimented  and  found 
true,  that  if  you  hang  belles  upon  collers  about  your 
houndes  necks,  a  Bore  will  not  so  soone  strike  at 
them,  but  flee  end  waies  before  them,  and  seldome 
stand  at  bay." 

In  France,  where  the  sport  of  Wild  Boar  hunting  is 
still  kept  up  in  the  olden  style,  different  names  are 
given  to  the  animal  at  different  ages.  While  quite 
young,  when  it  is  striped,  it  is  called  la  livree,  and 
marcassin ;  in  the  autumn,  when  the  stripes  disap- 
pear and  it  assumes  a  reddish  brown  colour,  it  is 
termed  bete  rousse  and  bete  de  Compaq  nie  (from 
keeping  with  the  herd),  names  which  are  retained 
until  two  years  old  ;  from  two  to  three  years  old  it 
is  called  ragot,  a  word  the  etymology  of  which  is 
unknown  ;  *  from  three  to  four,  sanglier  a  son  tiers-an, 
or  simply  tiers  an  ;  from  four  to  five,  quartanier ; 
from  five  to  six,  quintanicr  and  vieux  sanglier.  After 
this  age,  when  both  sexes  become  quite  grey,  the  ears, 

*  See  Holland,  "  Faune  Populairj  de  la  France,"  p.  75. 


THE    WILD  BOAR.  109 

legs,  and  tail  only  remaining  black,  it  is  called  grand 
vieux  sanglier  and  solitaire. 

The  winter  coat  of  the  Wild  Boar  is  quite  different 
to  that  which  he  wears  in  summer.  The  entire  body  in 
winter  is  clothed  with  down,  over  which  comes  a  thick 
coat  of  coarse  hair,  forming  a  stiff  mane  of  long  bristles 
down  the  neck  and  shoulders.  This  is  all  shed  as 
the  summer  approaches,  when,  with  a  smooth  coat  and 
no  bristles,  he  looks  quite  a  different  animal.  To  see 
him  at  his  best  it  is  needless  to  say  he  should  be 
viewed  in  winter.  His  appearance  is  then  extremely 
picturesque,  with  his  short  round  black  ears  standing 


GROUP   OF   WILD   BOARS.* 

erect  through  his  stiff  grey  mane  ;  high  shoulders, 
drooping  towards  the  tail ;  his  black  legs  almost  as 
fine  as  those  of  a  deer,  denoting  speed  and  activity  ; 
and  a  tail  which  he  nervously  twitches  while  champ- 
ing his  tusks  and  darting  "mischief"  in  every  look 
of  his  small  twinkling  eyes. 

The  tail,  it  should  be  observed,  is  never  curled,  as 
frequently,  though  erroneously,  rep  resented  in  pictures, 

*  From  a  carved  horn  in  possession  of  the  author. 


i  ro  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

but  is  perfectly  straight,  with  a  tuft  at  the  end,  not 
unlike  that  of  the  bison,  and  is  carried  erect  when 
running. 

Mr.  F.  H.  Salvin,  to  whom  reference  has  been 
already  made,  kept  a  Wild  Boar  for  six  or  seven  years, 
which  was  given  him  by  H.H.  the  Maharajah 
Dhuleep  Singh,  and  came  originally  from  Syria.  This 
animal,  a  female,  became  remarkably  tame,  and  would 
follow  her  owner  about  like  a  dog.  In  Land  and 
Water  of  January  12,  1867,  he  gave  an  interesting 
account  of  her,  which  is  too  long  to  be  quoted  here 
in  extenso,  but  from  which  we  extract  the  following 
particulars : — 

"  She  follows  me  almost  daily  in  my  walks  like  a 
dog,  to  the  great  astonishment  of  strangers.  Of 
course  I  only  take  her  out  when  the  crops  are  too  low 
to  be  injured  ;  during  the  spring  and  summer  months 
I  merely  take  her  for  a  run  in  the  park,  where  she 
can  do  no  harm.  No  dog  can  be  more  obedient  to 
the  whistle  than  she  is.  In  the  heat  of  summer  she 
is  fond  of  a  swim,  and  has  followed  me  in  a  boat  to 
a  great  distance.  I  always  have  her  belled,  to 
hear  where  she  is  in  the  woods,  and  the  bell,  which 
is  a  good  sheep's  bell,  is  fastened  round  her  neck  with 
a  strap  and  buckle.  This  was  of  use  last  autumn,  for 
upon  one  occasion  I  lost  her  for  a  night  or  two  by  her 
remaining  behind  with  her  young  ones  amongst  the 
acorns ;  and  when  I  found  her  by  the  bell's  sound,  I 
was  amused  to  see  the  immense  quantity  of  rushes 
w^hich  she  had  collected  in.  a  snug  dry  spot  for  a  lair 
for  herself  and  family. 


THE   WILD  BOAR. 


in 


Her  leaping  powers  are  extraordinary,  over  water 
or  timber.  On  one  occasion  she  cleared  some  palings 
three  feet  ten  inches  in  height.  As  she  had  young 
only  in  the  summer  time,  I  suspect  they  breed  but 
once  a  year  in  the  wild  state." 

This  confirms  the  statement  of  Turbervile  to  the 
effect  that  the  Wild  Boar  produces  only  one  litter 
in  the  year. 

It  was  formerly  the  custom  on  Christmas  Day  at 
Queen's  College,  Oxford  (whether  still  observed  or 
not,  we  cannot  say),  to  bring  into  hall  a  boar's  head 


BOAR   IX    EAST    (HEAP. 


with  great  ceremony  and  song,  as  described  by 
Aubrey  in  one  of  his  MSS.  preserved  in  the  Ash- 
molean  Museum.  Tradition  represents  this  usage  of 
Queen's  as  a  commemoration  of  an  act  of  valour  per- 
formed by  a  student  of  that  college,  who,  while  walk- 
ing in  the  neighbouring  forest  of  Shotover,  and  read- 
ing Aristotle,  was  suddenly  attacked  by  a  wild  boar. 
The  furious  beast  came  open-mouthed  upon  the 


ii2  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS, 

youth,  who,  however,  very  courageously  and  with  a 
happy  presence  of  mind,  is  said  to  have  "  rammed  in 
the  volume  and  cried  Grcecum  est,"  fairly  choking  the 
savage  with  the  sage.* 

We  can  scarcely  dip  into  the  history  of  the  Wild 
Boar  in  days  gone  by  without  being  reminded  of  the 
"  Boar's  Head"  in  Eastcheap,  so  happily  referred  to 
by  Shakespeare,  and  so  pleasantly  descanted  on  by 
Goldsmith  in  his  "Reverie  at  the  Boar's  Head 
Tavern ;"  and  we  are  tempted  to  give  an  illus- 
tration of  this  famous  sign,  in  reduced  facsimile 
from  the  engraving  in  Pennant's  "London."  That 
author  thus  alludes  to  it: — "A  little  higher  up  on 
the  left  hand  is  Eastcheap,  immortalized  by  Shake- 
speare as  the  place  of  rendezvous  of  Sir  John 
Falstaff  and  his  merry  companions.  Here  stood 
the  Boars  Head  tavern  ;  the  site  is  now  covered 
with  modern  houses,  but  in  the  front  one  is  still 
preserved  the  memory  of  the  sign,  the  Boar's  Head 
cut  in  stone.  Notwithstanding  the  house  is  gone, 
we  shall  laugh  at  the  humour  of  the  jovial  knight, 
his  hostess,  Bardolph,  and  Pistol,  as  long  as  the 
descriptive  pages  of  our  great  dramatic  writer  exist 
in  our  entertained  imagination." 

Hone,  in  his  "  Year  Book,"  gives  a  brief  account 
of  a  visit  which  he  paid  to  this  memorable  hostelry. 
"  I  could  not,"  he  says,  "  omit  a  sight  of  this  remark- 
able place  ;  but  upon  my  approach  to  Eastcheap,  the 
inhabitants  were  fled,  the  house  shut  up,  and  instead 
of  an  half  timber  building,  with  one  story  projecting 

*  Wade's  "  Walks  in  Oxford,"  1817,  vol.  i.  p.  167. 


THE   WILD  BOAR.  113 

over  the  other,  as  I  expected,  the  edifice  was  modern, 
with  a  date  in  the  front  of  1668.  I  immediately 
concluded  that  the  old  house  was  burnt  down  by 
the  great  fire."  Goldsmith's  latest  editor,  Colonel 
Cunningham,  in  a  note  to  the  essay  above  referred 
to,  assures  us  that  this  was  so. 

Hone,  however,  continued  his  researches.  On 
each  side  of  the  doorway  he  observed  "  a  vine- 
branch  carved  in  wood,  rising  more  than  three  feet 
from  the  ground,  loaded  with  leaves  and  clusters ; 
and  on  the  top  of  each  a  little  Falstaff,  eight  inches 
high,  in  the  dress  of  his  day."  This  induced  him  to 
make  further  inquiry,  when  he  ascertained  that  the 
place  had  been  sold  by  auction  three  week's  before, 
at  Garraway's  coffee-house  ;*  that  the  purchaser  was 
a  stranger,  and  had  the  keys ;  and  that  a  sight  of 
the  premises  could  not  be  obtained.  "  There  is 
nothing,"  he  says,  "  more  difficult  than  to  find  out 
a  curiosity  which  depends  upon  others,  and  which 
nobody  regards.  With  some  trouble,"  he  continues, 
"  I  procured  a  sight  of  the  back  buildings.  I  found 
them  in  that  ancient  state  which  convinced  me  that 
tradition,  Shakespeare  and  Goldsmith,  were  right  ; 
and  could  I  have  gained  admission  into  the  premises 
of  mine  hostess,  Mistress  Quickly,  I  should  certainly 
have  drank  a  cup  of  sack  in  memory  of  the  bulky 
knight. " 

There   was   another   and    more   ancient   hostelry 

*  The  date  of  his  visit  is  not  stated,  but  the  date  of  his  Preface  to 
"  The  Year  Book,"  in  which  his  account  is  printed  (under  "December  3"). 
is  January,  1832. 


1 14  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

called  the  "Boar's  Head,"  though  less  celebrated 
than  the  one  just  mentioned.  It  was  situate  in 
Southwark,  and  was  standing  in  Henry  the  Sixth's 
time.  It  is  referred  to  in  the  "  Paston  Letters,"  in  a 
letter  from  Henry  Wyndesore  to  John  Paston,  dated 
August  27,  1458.  The  writer  says, — "Please  you 
to  remembre  my  maistre  at  your  best  leiser,  wheder 
his  old  promise  shall  stande  as  touchyng  my  pre- 
ferrying  to  the  'Boreshed'  in  Suthwerke."* 

It  is  in  this  same  collection  that  we  find  mention 
made  of  the  use  of  "boar-spears"  in  Norfolk,  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  first  in  a  petition  of  John  Paston 
to  the  King  and  Parliament,  in  1450,  touching  his 
expulsion  from  Gresham  by  Lord  Molyns,  whose 
retainers  held  forcible  possession  of  this  man  or  "with 
bore-speres,  swordes,  and  gesernys"  (battle-axes) ; 
and  again  in  a  similar  petition  of  Walter  Ingham  in 
1454-t 

The  boar-spear  of  those  days  was  very  different 
from  the  spear  now  used  by  boar-hunters  in  India. 
Nicholas  Cox,  in  "  The  Gentleman's  Recreation," 
first  published  in  1674,  thus  describes  it: — "The 
hunting  spear  must  be  very  sharp  and  broad,  branch- 
ing forth  into  certain  forks,  so  that  the  boar  may 
not  break  through  them  upon  the  huntsman."  The 
modern  Anglo-Indian  spear  is  from  six  to  eight  feet 
long ;  the  shaft  of  bamboo  weighted  with  lead ;  the 
spear-head  a  broad  and  stout  blade. 

*  "  The  Paston  Letters,"  ed.  Gairdner,  vol.  i.  p.  431. 
f  Op.  cit.,  vol,  i.,  pp.  107,  271. 


THE   WOLF. 


THE    WOLF. 

Canis  lupus. 

OF  the  five  species  which  come  within  the  scope  of 
the  present  work,  the  Wolf  was  the  last  to  disappear. 
On  this  account,  partly,  the  materials  for  its  history 
as  a  British  animal  are  more  complete  than  is  the 
case  with  any  of  the  others. 

To  judge  by  the  osteological  remains  which  the 
researches  of  geologists  have  brought  to  light,  there 
was  perhaps  scarcely  a  county  in  England  or  Wales 
in  which,  at  one  time  or  another,  Wolves  did  not 

i 


n6  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

abound,  while  in  Scotland  and  Ireland  they  must 
have  been  even  still  more  numerous. 

The  vast  tracts  of  unreclaimed  forest  land  which 
formerly  existed  in  these  realms,  the  magnificent 
remnants  of  which  in  many  parts  still  strike  the 
beholder  with  awe  and  admiration,  afforded  for 
centuries  an  impenetrable  retreat  for  these  animals, 
from  which  it  was  well-nigh  impossible  to  drive 
them.  It  was  not,  indeed,  until  all  legitimate 
modes  of  hunting  and  trapping  had  proved  in  vain, 
until  large  prices  set  upon  the  heads  of  old  and 
young  had  alike  failed  to  compass  their  entire 
destruction,  that  by  cutting  down  or  burning  whole 
tracts  of  the  forests  which  harboured  them,  they 
were  at  length  effectually  extirpated. 

In  the  course  of  the  following  remarks -it  is  proposed 
to  deal,  first,  with  the  geological  evidence  of  the 
former  existence  and  distribution  of  Wolves  in  the 
British  Islands  ;  secondly,  with  the  historical  evidence 
of  their  survival  and  gradual  extinction. 

Under  the  latter  head  it  will  be  convenient  to 
arrange  the  evidence  separately  for  England  and 
Wales,  Scotland,  and  Ireland :  and,  as  regards 
England  and  Wales,  to  subdivide  the  subject 
chronologically  into  (i)  the  Ancient  British  Period; 
(2)  the  Anglo-Saxon  Period;  and  (3)  the  period 
intervening  between  the  Norman  Conquest  and  the 
reign  of  Henry  VII. 

In  this  reign,  it  is  believed,  the  last  trace  of  the 
Wolf  in  England  disappeared,  since  history  there- 
after is  silent  on  the  subject.  In  Scotland  and 


THE   WOLF.  117 

Ireland,  however,  this  was  by  no  means  the  case,  as, 
later  on,  we  shall  be  able  to  show. 

GEOLOGICAL  EVIDENCE. 

( )\\ing  to  the  great  similarity  which  exists  between 
the  skeleton  of  a  Wolf  and  that  of  a  large  Dog,  such 
as  would  be  used  in  the  chase,  it  is  very  difficult  to 
distinguish  between  them.  Professor  Owen,  in  his 


SKULL  OF  WOLF.      Q  NAT.  SIZE.) 


"  British  Fossil  Mammals,"  has  remarked  upon  this 
difficulty,  and,  following  Cuvier,  has  pointed  out  the 
chief  distinguishing  characters  which  may  be  relied 
upon  for  identification,  and  which  lie  chiefly  in  the 
skull.  He  says  :  —  "  The  Wolf  has  the  triangular 
part  of  the  forehead  behind  the  orbits  a  little  nar- 
rower and  flatter,  the  occipito-sagittal  crest  longer 
and  loftier,  and  the  teeth,  especially  the  canines, 
proportionately  larger.  '  '* 

*  Compare  the  crania  of  the  Wolf  here  figured  (pp.  120,  121)  with 
those  of  the  Dog,  upper  and  under  surfaces,  given  by  Professor 
Flower  in  his  "  Osteology  of  the  Mammalia,"  pp.  1  13,  116  (rst  ed.). 

I  2 


n8  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

So  far  as  we  have  been  enabled  to  collect  the  evi- 
dence, it  would  appear  that  undoubted  remains  of  the 
Wolf  have  been  found  in  the  following  localities,  for 
a  knowledge  of  many  of  which  we  are  indebted  to 
Professor  Boyd  Dawkins'  able  paper,  "  On  the 
Distribution  of  the  British  Post-Glacial  Mammals," 
published  in  the  Quarterly  Journal  of  the  Geological 
Society,  vol.  xxv.  1869,  p.  192. 

BERKSHIRE. — Windsor  (Mus.  Geol.  Survey). 

DERBYSHIRE. — PleasbyVale  (Mus.  GeoL  Survey);  "Windy  Knoll, 
Castleton  (Dawkins,  "  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc."  xxxi.  p.  246, 
and  xxxiii.  p.  727) ;  Creswell  Crag  Caves  (Mello  and  Busk, 
"Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc."  xxxi.  p.  684;  Dawkins,  op.  cit. 
xxxii.  p.  248,  aud  xxxiii.  pp.  590  and  602.) 

DEVONSHIRE. — Bench  Cave,  Brixham  (W.  A.  Sanford) ;  Kent's 
Hole,  Torquay  (Mus.  Geol.  Soc.,  Mus  Eoy.  Coll.  Surg.,  and 
Mus.  Oxford) ;  Oreston,  near  Plymouth  (Brit.  Mus.  and  Mus. 
Geol.  Soc. ;  Owen,  "  Brit.  Foss.  Mamm."  p.  123). 

GLAMORGANSHIRE. — Gower.Bacon's  Hole  (Mus.  Swansea ;  Falconer, 
"Palseont.  Mem."  ii.  pp.  183,  325,  340,  349,  501);  Bosco's 
Hole  (Mus.  Swansea;  Falconer,  torn.  cit.  pp.  510,  589) ;  Crow- 
Hole  (Mus.  Swansea;  Falconer,  torn.  cit.  p.  519) ;  Deborah 
Den  (Mus.  Swansea;  Falconer,  torn.  cit.  p.  467) ;  Long  Hole 
(Falconer,  torn.  cit.  pp.  400,  525,  538) ;  Minchin  Hole  (Brit. 
Mus. ;  Mus.  Swansea) ;  Paviland  (Mus.  Oxford  and  Swan- 
sea; Owen,  "Brit.  Foss.  Mamm."  p.  124);  Kavenscliff 
(Falconer,  torn.  cit.  p.  519);  Spritsail  Tor  (id.  pp.  179,462, 
477,  522). 

GLOUCESTERSHIRE. — Tewkesbury  (Owen,  "  Brit.  Foss.  Mamm."). 

KENT.— Murston,  Sittingbourne  (Mus.  Geol.  Survey). 

ESSEX.— Valley  of  the  Boding,  Ilford  (Sir  A.  Brady). 

NORFOLK. — Denver  Sluicef  (Mus.  Geol.  Cambr.). 

OXFORDSHIRE. — Thame  (Coll.  Codrington,  "  Quart.  Journ.  Geol. 
Soc."  xx.  p.  374). 

SOMERSETSHIRE. — Benwell  Cave  ("W.  Borrer) ;  Blendon  (Mus. 
Taunton) ;  Hutton  (Mus.  Taunton)  ;  Sandford  Hill  (Mus. 
Taunton) ;  Uphill  (Mus.  Bath  and  Taunton)  ;  Wokey  Hole 
(Mus.  Oxford,  Taunton,  and  Bristol). 

t  A  landscape  by  E.  W.  Fraser  "  On  the  Ouze  near  Denver  Sluice  " 
was  exhibited  at  the  Eoyal  Academy  in  1877,  TsTo.  794.  The  locality 
is  a  few  miles  to  the  South  of  Downham  Market,  and  just  below  where 
the  old  and  new  Bedford  rivers  run  into  the  natural  stream. 


THE   WOLF.  119 

SUSSEX.— Bracklesham  (Brit.  Mus.  and  Mus.  Chicliester) ;  Peven- 

sey*  ("  Sussex  Archaeol.  Coll."  xxiv.  p.  160.) 
WILTSUIRE. — Vale  of  Kennet  ("  Sussex  Archaeol."  torn.  cit.). 
YORKSHIRE. — Bielbecks  (Mus.  York  ;  "  Phil.  Mag."  vol.  vi.  p.  225) ; 

Kirkdalo  (Brit.  Mus.,  Mus.  Geol.  Soc.  and  Roy.  Coll.  Surg ; 

Buckland,  "Trans.  Eoy.  Soc."  1822  ;   Clift,  id.  1823,  p.  90). 

We  have  here  a  dozen  counties  in  different  parts 
of  England  and  Wales,  north,  south,  east,  and  west, 
which  show  clearly  from  their  position  how  very  gene- 
rally distributed  the  Wolf  must  formerly  have  been. 

The  geological  record,  however,  is  but  an  im- 
perfect one  in  showing  the  distribution  of  the  Wolf 
in  bygone  times,  for  to  the  localities  above  mentioned 
might  be  added  numerous  others  in  which  we  know 
from  history  that  this  animal  formerly  abounded. 
The  forest  of  Rlddlesdale  in  Northumberland  ;  the 
great  forests  of  Blackburnshire  and  Bowland  in 
Lancashire  ;  Richmond  Forest,  Yorkshire  ;  Sherwood 
Forest,  Nottinghamshire  ;  Savernake  Forest,  Wilts  ; 
the  New  Forest ;  the  forests  of  Bere  and  Irwell,  and 
many  others,  are  on  record  as  former  strongholds  of 
these  ferocious  animals.  To  these  we  shah1  have 
occasion  to  refer  later  when  dealing  with  the 
historical  evidence. 

Unlike  other  extinct  British  animals,  the  Wolf 
apparently  has  not  deteriorated  in  size,  for  the  fossil 
bones  which  have  been  discovered,  as  above  men- 
tioned, are  not  larger,  nor  in  any  way  to  be  dis- 
tinguished from  those  of  European  wolves  of  the 
present  day. 

*  Iu  1851  many  skulls  of  Wolves  were  taken  out  of  a  disused 
mediaeval  well  at  Pevensey  Castle. 


EXTINCT  BRITISH   ANIMALS. 


HISTORICAL  EVIDENCE — ENGLAND. 

Ancient  British  Period.  —  Dio  Nicseus,  speaking 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  northern  parts  of  this 
island,  tells  us  they  were  a  fierce  and  barbarous 


CRANIUM  OF  WOLF.      UPPJill  SUKFACE.       (-3  NAT.  S17.E.) 

people,  who  tilled  no  ground,  but  lived  upon  the 
depredations  they  committed  in  the  southern  dis- 
tricts or  upon  the  food  they  procured  by  hunting. 
Strabo  also  says  (lib.  iv.)  that  the  dogs  bred  in 
Britain  were  highly  esteemed  upon  the  Continent  on 
account  o±  their  excellent  qualities  for  hunting,  and 
these  qualities,  he  seems  to  hint,  were  natural  to 


THE   WOLF.  121 

them,  and  not  the  effect  of  tutorage  by  their  foreign 
masters.  Wolf-hunting  appears  to  have  been  a 
favourite  pursuit  with  the  ancient  Britons.  Mem- 
pricius  or  Memprys,  one  of  the  immediate  descendants 
of  Brutus,  who  reigned  until  B.C.  980,  fell  a  victim 


CRANIUM  OF  WOLF.      UNDER  SUKFACE.       (3  NAT.  SI/1..) 

in  that  year  to  the  Wolves  which  he  delighted  to 
pursue,  and  was  unfortunately  devoured  by  them. 

"  Hys  brothir  he  slwe — 
For  tyl  succede  tyl  hym  as  kyng. 
It  happynde  syne  at  a  huntyng 
"VVytht  wolwys  hym  to  weryde  be  ; 
Swa  endyit  his  iniquite." 

Wyntoivnits  Ci'onylcil,  i.  p.  54. 

Blaiddyd,  another  British  monarch  (B.C.  863),  who 
seems  to  have  been  learned  in  chemistry,  is  said  to 


i22  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

have  discovered  the  medicinal  properties  of  the  Bath 
mineral  waters,  by  observing  that  cattle  when 
attacked  and  wounded  by  the  Wolves  went  and 
stood  in  these  waters,  and  were  then  healed  much 
sooner  then  they  would  have  been  by  any  other 
means.  From  this  it  may  be  inferred  that  Wolf- 
hunting  was  found  by  the  ancient  Britons  to  be  a 
necessary  and  pleasurable,  yet  dangerous,  pursuit. 

We  do  not  find,  says  Strutt,*  that  during  the 
establishment  of  the  Romans  in  Britain,  there  were 
any  restrictive  laws  promulgated  respecting  the 
killing  of  game.  It  appears  to  have  been  an 
established  maxim  in  the  early  jurisprudence  of  that 
people,  to  invest  the  right  of  such  things  as  had  no 
master  with  those  who  were  the  first  possessors. 
Wild  beasts,  birds,  and  fishes  became  the  property  of 
those  who  first  could  take  them.  It  is  most 
probable  that  the  Britons  were  left  at  liberty  to 
exercise  their  ancient  privileges ;  for  had  any 
severity  been  exerted  to  prevent  the  destruction  of 
game,  such  laws  would  hardly  have  been  passed  over 
without  the  slightest  notice  being  taken  of  them  by 
the  ancient  historians. 

Anglo-Saxon  Period. — As  early  as  the  ninth  cen- 
tury, and  doubtless  long  before  that,  a  knowledge  of 
hunting  formed  an  essential  part  of  the  education  of 
a  young  nobleman.  Asser,  in  his  "  Life  of  Alfred  the 
Great,"  assures  us  that  that  monarch  before  he  was 
twelve  years  of  age  "was  a  most  expert  and  active 
hunter,  and  excelled  in  all  the  branches  of  that  most 

*  "  Sports  and  Pastimes  of  the  People  of  England." 


THE   WOLF. 


123 


noble  art,  to  which  he  applied  with  incessant  labour 
and  amazing  success."  Hunting  the  Wolf,  the  Wild 
Boar,  the  Fox,  and  the  Deer,  were  the  favourite 
pastimes  of  the  nobility  of  that  day,  and  the  Dogs 
which  they  employed  for  these  various  branches  of  the 
sport,  were  held  by  them  in  the  highest  estimation. 
Such  ravages  did  the  Wolves  commit  during  winter, 


TKETII  OF  WOLF.      NATURAL  SIZE. 


particularly  in  January  when  the  cold  was  severest, 
that  the  Saxons  distinguished  that  month  by  the 
name  of  "  Wolf  month." 

"The  month  which  we  now  call  January,"  says 
Verstegan,  "they  called  'Wolf  monat,'  to  wit,  'Wolf 
moneth/  because  people  are  wont  always  in  that 
month  to  be  in  more  danger  to  be  devoured  of  Wolves 
than  in  any  season  else  of  the  year;  for  that,  through 
the  extremity  of  cold  and  snow,  these  ravenous 


i24  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

creatures  could  not  find  of  other  beasts  sufficient  to 
feed  upon."* 

The  Saxons  also  called  an  outlaw  "  wolfs-head/'t 
as  being  out  of  the  protection  of  the  law,  proscribed, 
and  as  liable  to  be  killed  as  that  destructive  beast. 
"  Et  tune  gerunt  caput  lupinum,  ita  quod  sine  judiciali 
inquisilione  rite  pereant."^ 

In  the  "  Penitentiale"  of  Archbishop  Egber,1-,  drawn 
up  about  A.D.  750,  it  is  laid  down  (lib.  iv.)  that,  "  if 
a  wolf  shall  attack  cattle  of  any  kind,  and  the  animal 
attacked  shall  die  in.  consequence,  no  Christian  may 
touch  it." 

It  is  to  the  terror  which  the  Wolf  inspired  among 
our  forefathers  that  we  are  to  ascribe  the  fact  of 
kings  and  rulers,  in  a  barbarous  age,  feeling  proud  of 
bearing  the  name  of  this  animal  as  an  attribute  of 
courage  and  ferocity.  Brute  power  was  then  con- 
sidered the  highest  distinction  of  man,  and  the 
sentiment  was  not  mitigated  by  those  refinements  of 
modern  life  which  conceal  but  do  not  destroy  it. 
We  thus  find,  amongst  our  Anglo-Saxon  kings  and 
great  men,  such  names  as  Ethel wulf,  "the  Noble 
Wolf;"  Berth  wulf,  "the  Illustrious  Wolf ;"  Eadwulf, 
"  the  Prosperous  Wolf;"  Ealdwulf,  "  the  Old  Wolf." 

In  Athelstan's  reign,  Wolves  abounded  so  in  York- 
shire that  a  retreat  was  built  by  one  Acehorn,  at 

*  "  Restitution  of  Decayed  Intelligence,"  p.  64  (ed.  1673). 

f  Ang.-Sax.  Wulvcslwofod,  that  is,  having  the  head  of  a  Wolf.  In 
1041,  the  fugitive  Godwin  was  proclaimed  Wulveshcofod,  a  price  being 
set  upon  his  head.  The  term  was  in  use  temp.  Henry  II. 

J  Bracton,  "  De  legibus  et  consuetudinibus  Anglia?,"  lib.  iii.  tr.  ii. 
c.  ii  (1569).  See  also  Knighton,  "  De  Eventibus  Anglise,"  in 
Twysden's  "  Historic  Angiicame  Scriptorcs  Decem,"  p.  2356  (1652). 


THE    WOLF.  125 

Flixton,  near  Filey,  in  that  county,  wherein  travellers, 
might  seek  refuge  if  attacked  by  them. 

Carnden  says  :— "  More  inward  stands  Flixton, 
where  a  hospital  was  built  in  the  time  of  Athelstan, 
tor  defending  travellers  from  Wolves  (as  it  is  word 
for  word  in  the  public  records),  that  they  should  not 
be  devoured  by  them/'*  It  is  currently  believed 
that  a  farmhouse  between  the  villages  of  Flixton 
and  Staxton  now  stands  on  the  site  of  this  hospital. 
It  was  restored  and  confirmed  in  1447  by  the  name 
of  Canons  Spittle,  and  was  dissolved  about  1535, 
The  farm  is  still  called  Spittal  Farm,  and  a  small 
stream  running  by  it  is  called  Spittal  Brook.* 

When  Athelstan,  in  938,  obtained  a  signal  victory 
at  Brunanburgh  over  Constantine,  King  of  Wales, 
he  imposed  upon  him  a  yearly  tribute  of  money  and 
cattle,  to  which  was  also  added  a  certain  number  of 
"  hawks  and  sharp- scented  dogs,  tit  for  the  hunting 
of  wild  beasts."|  His  successor,  Edgar,  remitted 
the  pecuniary  payment  on  condition  of  receiving- 
annually  from  Ludwall§  (or  Idwal||),  the  successor  of 
Constantine,  the  skins  of  three  hundred  Wolves.' 

*  Camden,  "  Britannia,"  tit.  Yorkshire,  vol.  ii.  p.  902. 

f  This  information  was  communicated  to  the  author  by  the  Rev. 
Henry  Blane,  of  Folkton  Rectory,  (Jantou,  York. 

*  William  of  Malmesbury,  "  Hist.  Reg.  Anglorum,"  lib.  ii.  c.  6. 

§  Of.  Holinshed's  "  Chronicles,"  vol.  i.  p.  378  (4to  cd.  1807),  and 
Selden's  Notes  to  Drayton's  "  Polyolbion,"  Song  ix. 

||  Cf.  Camdeu's  "  Britannia,"  tit.  Merionethshire,  vol.  ii.  p.  785. 
^f  William  of  Malmesbury,  op/  cit.  lib.  ii.  c.  8.  See^also  the  quaint 
remarks  on  this  subject  by  Taylor,  the  Water  Poet,  in  his  "Journey 
through  Wales,"  1652  (p;i.  31,  32,  Halliwell's  edition,  1859).  The 
value  of  a  wolf-skin  in  Wales,  as  fixed  by  the  Code  of  Laws  made  by 
How  el  Dha  in  the  ninth  century.  \v;is  eight  pemv.  the  tame  value 
being  set  upon  an  otter-skin. 


i26  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

We  do  not  find,  indeed,  that  the  hawks  and  hounds 
were  included  in  this  new  stipulation,  but  it  does 
not  seem  reasonable  that  Edgar,  who,  like  his  pre- 
decessor, was  extremely  fond  of  field  sports,  should 
have  remitted  that  part  of  the  tribute.* 

It  is  generally  admitted  that  Edgar  relinquished 
the  fine  of  gold  and  silver  imposed  by  his  uncle 
Athelstan  upon  Constantine,  and  claimed  in  its 
stead  the  annual  production  of  300  wolf- skins,  be- 
cause, say  the  historians,  the  extensive  woodlands 
and  coverts,  abounding  at  that  time  in  Britain, 
afforded  shelter  for  the  Wolves,  which  were  ex- 
ceedingly numerous,  especially  in  the  districts 
bordering  upon  Wales.  By  this  prudent  expedient, 
in  less  than  four  years,  it  is  said,  the  whole  island 
was  cleared  of  these  ferocious  animals,  without 
putting  his  subjects  to  the  least  expense.t  But,  as 
Strutt  has  observed, \  "if  this  record  be  taken  in 
its  full  latitude,  and  the  supposition  established, 
that  the  Wolves  were  totally  exterminated  in  Britain 
during  the  reign  of  Edgar,  more  will  certainly  be 
admitted  than  is  consistent  with  the  truth,  as  certain 
documents  clearly  prove."  The  words  of  William  of 
Malmesbury  on  the  subject  are  to  this  effect,  that 
"he,  Edgar,  imposed  a  tribute  upon  the  King  of 
Wales,  exacting  yearly  300  Wolves.  This  tribute 

*  Strutt,  "  Sports  and  Pastimes." 

t  It  is  singular  that  the  same  expedient  has  been  resorted  to  in 
modern  times,  and  with  considerable  success.  In  the  accounts  of 
Assinniboia,  Bed  River  Territory,  there  is  an  entry  of  payment  for 
Wolves'  heads;  and  in  1868  the  State  of  Minnesota  paid  for  Wolves' 
scalps  11,300  dollars,  at  the  rate  of  10  dollars  apiece. 

+  "  Sports  and  Pastimes." 


THE   WOLF.  127 

continued  to  be  paid  for  three  years,  but  ceased 
upon  the  fourth,  because,  '  nidlurn  se  ulterius  posse 
invenire  professus,'  it  was  said  that  he  could  not 
find  any  more."* 

"  Cambria's  proud  Kings  (tho'  with  reluctance)  paid 
Their  tributary  wolves  ;  head  after  head, 
In  full  account,  till  the  woods  yield  no  more, 
And  all  the  rav'nous  race  extinct  is  lost." 

SOMEKVILE'S  Chace. 

But  this  must  be  taken  to  refer  only  to  Wales,  for  in 
the  first  place  it  can  hardly  be  supposed  that  the 
Welsh  chieftain  would  be  permitted  to  hunt  out  of 
his  own  dominions,  and  in  the  next  place  there  is 
abundant  documentary  evidence  to  prove  the  exist- 
ence of  Wolves  in  England  for  many  centuries  later. 
Holinshed,  who  gives  a  much  fuller  account,  says  :f 
— "  The  happie  and  fortunate  want  of  these  beasts 
in  England  is  vniuersallie  ascribed  to  the  politike 
government  of  King  Edgar,  who  to  the  intent  the 
whole  countrie  might  once  be  clensed  and  clearelie 
rid  of  them,  charged  the  conquered  Welshmen  (who 
were  then  pestered  with  these  rauenous  creatures 
aboue  measure)  to  paie  him  a  yearlie  tribute  of 
woolfes  skinnes,  to  be  gathered  within  the  land.  He 
appointed  them  thereto  a  certaine  number  of  30x3, 
with  free  libertie  for  their  prince  to  hunt  and 
pursue  them  ouer  all  quarters  of  the  realme  ;  as  our 
chronicles  doo  report.  Some  there  be  which  write 

*  "Hist.  Eeg.  Anglorum,"  lib.  ii.  cap.  8.  Sec  also  Wynne's 
"  Caradoc,"  p.  51. 

f  "  Chronicles  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,"  (ed.  4to,  1807), 
vol.  i.  p.  378,  bk.  iii.  chap.  iv. :  '  Of  Savage  Beasts  and  Vermines.' 


128  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

how  Ludwall,  prince  of  Wales,  paid  yearelie  to  King- 
Edgar  this  tribute  of  300  woolfes,  whose  carcases 
being  brought  into  Lloegres,  were  buried  at  Wolfpit, 
in  Cambridgeshire,  and  that  by  meanes  thereof 
within  the  compasse  and  terme  of  foure  yeares,  none 
of  these  noisome  creatures  were  left  to  be  heard  of 
within  Wales  and  England.  Since  this  time,  also,  we 
read  not  that  anie  woplfe  hath  beene  seene  here  that 
hath  beene  bred  within  the  bounds  and  limits  of  our 
countrie  :  howbeit  there  hkue  beene  diuerse  brought 
over  from  beyond  the  seas  for  greedinesse  of  gaine, 
and  to  make  monie  onlie  by  the  gasing  and  gaping  of 
our  people  vpon  them,  who  couet  oft  to  see  them, 
being  strange  beasts  in  their  eies,  and  sildome 
knowne  (as  I  haue  said)  in  England." 

This  event  is  related  somewhat  differently  by  the 
Welsh  historians.  "  In  the  year  965,"  says  Powel, 
"  the  country  of  North  Wales  was  cruelly  wasted  by 
the  army  of  Edgar,  King  of  England ;  the  occasion 
of  which  was,  the  non-payment  of  the  tribute  that 
the  king  of  Aberffraw  (North  Wales),  by  the  laws 
of  How  el  Dha,  was  obliged  to  pay  to  the  king  of 
London  (England).  But  at  length  a  peace  was  con- 
cluded upon  these  conditions,  that  the  king  of  North 
Wales,  instead  of  money,  should  pay  to  the  king  of 
England  the  tribute  of  300  Wolves  yearly  ;  which 
creature  was  then  very  pernicious  and  destructive  to 
England  and  Wales.  This  tribute  being  duly  per- 
formed for  two  years,  the  third  year  there  were  none 
to  be  found  in  any  part  of  the  island,  so  that  after- 
wards the  prince  of  North  Wales  became  exempt 


THE   WOLF.  129 

from  paying  any  acknowledgment  to  the  king  of 
England.'' 

The  amount  of  the  original  tribute  commuted  for 
this  tax  of  Wolves,  the  time  when  that  tribute  was 
appointed,  and  the  cause  for  which  it  was  imposed, 
are  altogether  circumstances  not  very  generally  under- 
stood. It  is  vaguely  imagined  to  have  been  a  de- 
grading tax  paid  by  the  people  of  Wales  to  the 
English  monarch,  in  token  of  their  subjection  to  his 
sovereignty  as  their conque'ror.  "This,"  says  Powel, 
"  is  not  the  fact ;  it  arose  from  a  local  cause  :  from  one 
of  those  cruel  dissensions  among  the  native  princes 
which  too  often  disgrace  the  Welsh  annals,  and  to 
settle  which  the  weakest  never  failed  to  invite  the 
aid  of  foreign  force. 

About  the  year  953,  Owen,  the  son  of  Griffith,  was 
slain  by  the  men  of  Cardigan  ;  and  Athelstane,  upon 
this  pretext,  entering  with  an  army  into  Wales, 
imposed  an  annual  tribute  upon  certain  princes  to 
the  amount  of  £20  in  gold,  ^300  in  silver,  and  200 
head  of  cattle,  but  which  was  not  observed  by  these 
Welsh  princes,  as  appears  by  the  laws  of  Howel  Dha, 
wherein  the  levy  is  appointed.  It  is  there  decreed 
that  the  Prince  of  Aberffraw  should  pay  no  more  to 
the  English  king  than  £66  tribute,  and  even  this  sum 
was  to  be  contributed  to  the  prince  of  Aberffraw  by 
the  princes  of  Dinefawr  and  Powis,  upon  whom  this 
tax  was  virtually  imposed.  The  principality  of  Dine- 
fawr, it  may  be  observed,  included  Cardigan,  by  the 
men  of  which  district  the  alleged  crime  had  been 
committed ;  and  Powis,  which  was  close  to  the 


130  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

English  borders,  was  apparently  implicated  in  the 
same  offence." 

Hence  it  appears  the  tax  was  a  local  fine  imposed 
upon  these  two  princes,  only  that  the  prince  of 
North  Wales  was  made  answerable  for  its  due  per- 
formance. The  tax  existed  therefore,  though  but 
nominally,  for  the  space  of  two-and-thirty  years — 
namely,  from  the  time  of  Athelstane  to  Edgar — when 
the  above  recorded  commutation  of  the  tribute  took 
place,  and  for  the  fulfilment  of  which  condition  it  is 
apparent  the  prince  of  North  Wales  was  again  made 
answerable. 

That  the  principality  of  Wales  was,  by  this  salutary 
means,  delivered  in  a  great  measure  from  the  pest  of 
Wolves  may  be  conceived.  In  this  the  histories  of 
the  Welsh  agree ;  but  there  is  some  shade  of  differ- 
ence in  their  conclusions  as  to  the  utter  extermination 
of  the  race ;  and  it  is  now  believed  that  they  were 
not  entirely  destroyed  in  Wales  till  years  after. 
Owen,  in  his  "  Cambrian  Biography,"  says  it  was  not 
till  forty-five  years  after.* 

Drayton,  in  his  "  Polyolbion"  (Song  ix.),  has  thus 
commemorated  the  wisdom  of  Edgar's  policy  : — 

"  Thrice  famous  Saxon  king,  on  whom  Time  ne'er  shall  prey. 
0  Edgar !  who  compell'dst  our  Ludwall  hence  to  pay 
Three  hundred  Wolves  a  year  for  tribute  unto  thee  ; 
And  for  that  tribute  paid,  as  famous  may'st  thou  be, 
O  conquer'd  British  king,  by  whom  was  first  destroy'd 
The  multitude  of  Wolves  that  long  this  land  annoy'd." 

*  "  lago  ap  Idwal  Yoel,  king  of  Gwynedd,  from  A.D.  948  to  979. 
From  948  to  966  he  reigned  jointly  with  his  brother  Jevav.  In  962 
Edgar  made  him  pay  tribute  of  wolves'  heads  ;  and  in  forty-five  years 
after,  all  these  animals  were  destroyed." 


THE   WOLF.  131 

The  learned  Dr.  Kay*  acquiesced  in  the  vulgar 
opinion  of  the  extinction  of  Wolves  in  England  by 
King  Edgar,  and  in  his  work  on  "British  Dogs/'  pub- 
lished in  1570,  treating  of  the  sheep-dog  (Pastoralis) 
he  says  :  "  Sunt  qui  scribunt  Ludwallum  Cambrics 
principem  pendisse  annuatim  Edgaro  regi  ^ooluporum 
tributi  nomine,  atque  ita  annis  quatuor  onmem  Cambriam, 
atque  adeo  omnem  Angliam,  orbasse  lupis." 

"  Regnavit  autem  Edgarus  circiter  annum  959,  a  quo 
tempore  non  legimus  nativum  in  Anglia  visum  lupum." 

The  worthy  doctor  seems  to  have  been  little  aware 
that  even  at  the  date  at  which  he  wrote  wolves  still 
existed  in  the  British  Islands.  Dr.  John  Walker 
was  almost  as  much  at  fault  when  he  wrote  :  "  Canis 
lupus.  Habitavit  olim  in  Britannia.  Quondam  incola 
sylvai  caledonice.  In  Scotia  seculo  xv.  extinctus,  et 
postremo  in  regions  Navernice."^ 

Pennant,  referring  to  the  received  opinion  that  a 
great  part  of  the  kingdom  was  freed  from  Wolves 
through  the  exertions  of  King  Edgar,  says : — "  In 
England  he  attempted  to  effect  it  by  commuting  the 
punishments  for  certain  crimes  into  the  acceptance 
of  a  number  of  Wolves'  tongues  from  each  criminal ; 
in  Wales  by  converting  a  tax  of  gold  and  silver  into 
an  annual  tribute  of  300  Wolves'  heads.  Notwith- 
standing his  endeavours,  however,  and  the  assertions 

*  "  Joannis  Caii  Britanni  'de  Canibua  Britannicis.'  "  Liber  unus. 
Londini,  per  Gulielmum  Seresium.  8vo,  1570.  There  is  a  transla- 
tion of  this  work  in  the  British  Museum,  entitled,  "  Of  Englisho 
Dogges,  newly  drawn  into  English."  By  Abraham  Fleming,  Student. 
London.  4^0,1576.  A  reprint  of  this  has  been  recently  published. 

f*  Mammalia  Scotica,'  in  "Essays  on  Nat.  Hist,  and  Kural 
Economy,"  1814,  p.  480. 

K 


132  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

of  some  authors  to  the  contrary,  his  scheme  proved 
abortive."* 

We  have  met  with  a  statement  to  the  effect 
that  "two  wooden  Wolves'  heads  still  remain  near 
Glastonbury  on  an  ancient  house  where  [query,  on 
the  site  of  which]  at  Eadgerly,  King  Edgar  lived  and 
received  annually  his  tax  from  the  Welsh  in  300 
heads,  "t 

This  statement,  however,  conflicts  somewhat  with 
that  of  Holinshed,  who  says  that  "  the  carcases  being- 
brought  into  Lloegres,  were  buried  at  Wolfpit  in 
Cambridgeshire.  "| 

In  the  Forest  Laws  of  Canute,  promulgated  in 
1016,  the  Wolf  is  thus  expressly  mentioned  : — "  As 
for  foxes  and  wolves,  they  are  neither  reckoned  as 
beasts  of  the  forest  or  of  venery,  and  therefore  who- 
ever kills  any  of  them  is  out  of  all  danger  of  for- 
feiture, or  making  any  recompense  or  amends  for  the 
same.  Nevertheless,  the  killing  them  within  the 
limits  of  the  forest  is  a  breach  of  the  royal  chase,  and 
therefore  the  offender  shall  yield  a  recompense  for 
the  same,  though  it  be  but  easy  and  gentle."§ 

It  was"  doubtless  to  this  constitution  that  the 
Solicitor-General  St.  John  referred,  at  the  trial  of  the 
Earl  of  Strafford,  when  he  said,  "  We  give  law  to 
hares  and  deer,  because  they  are  beasts  of  chase  ;  but 
we  give  no  law  to  wolves  and  foxes,  because  they  are 

*  "British  Zoology,"  vol.  i.  p.  88  (1812). 
f  "  Sussex  Archaeol.  Coll."  vol.  iv.  p.  83  (1851). 
I  "Chronicles,"  vol.  i.  p.  378  (4to  ed.  1807). 

§  See  Manwood's  "  Forest  Laws."    The  Charter  of  the  Forest  of 
Cauutusthe  Dane  (§  27). 


THE   WOLR  133 

beasts  of  prey,  but  knock  them  on  the  head  wherever 
we  find  them."* 

Liulphus,  a  dean  of  Whalley  in  the  time  of  Canute, 
was  celebrated  as  a  wolf-hunter  at  Rossendale,  Lan- 
cashire, t 

Matthew  Paris,  in  his  "  Lives  of  the  Abbots  of  St. 
Albans,"  mentions  a  grant  of  church  lands  by  Abbot 
Leofstan  (the  I2th  abbot  of  that  monastery)  to 
Thurnoth  and  others,  in  consideration  of  their  keep- 
ing the  woods  between  the  Chiltern  Hundreds  and 
London  free  from  wolves  and  other  wild  beasts. 

It  would  seem  that  the  "  ancient  and  accustomed 
tribute"  due  to  the  English  kings  was  repeated  by 
the  Welsh  princes  in  the  very  last  years  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  monarchy.  It  was  demanded  by  and 
rendered  to  Harold.J 

Period  from  the  Conquest  to  the  reign  of  Henry  VII. 
— Historical  evidence  of  the  existence  of  wolves  in 
Great  Britain  before  the  Norman  Conquest,  as 
might  be  expected,  is  meagre  and  unsatisfactory, 
and  the  abundance  of  these  animals  in  our  islands 
prior  to  that  date  is  chiefly  to  be  inferred  from  the 
measures  which  in  later  times  were  devised  for  their 
destruction. 

In  the  "Carmen  de  Bello  Hastingensi,"  by  Guido, 
Bishop  of  Amiens  (v.  571 ),  it  is  related  that  William 
the  Conqueror  left  the  dead  bodies  of  the  English 
upon  the  battle-field  to  be  devoured  by  worms,  wolves, 
birds,  and  dogs — vermibus,  atque  lupis,  avibus,  cani- 

*  Clarendon,  "Hist.  Reb."  fol.  ed.,  i.  p.  183. 

f  Whitaker's  "History  of  Whalley,"  p.  222.  J  Palgrave. 

K  2 


i34  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

busque  voranda.  When  Waltheof,  the  son  of  Siwardr 
with  an  invading  Danish  army  arrived  in  the 
Humber,  in  September,  1069,  and,  reinforced  by  the 
men  of  Northumbria,  made  an  attack  upon  York,  it  is 
related  that  3,000  Normans  fell.  A  hundred  of  the 
chiefest  in  rank  were  said  to  have  fallen  amongst 
the  flames  by  the  hand  of  Waltheof  himself,  and  the 
Scalds  of  the  North  sang  how  the  son  of  Siward  gave 
the  corpses  of  the  Frenchmen  as  a  choice  banquet  for 
the  Wolves  of  Northumberland.* 

In  1076  Robert  de  Umfraville,t  Knight,  lord  of 
Toures  and  Tain,  otherwise  called  "  Robert  with  the 
Beard,"  being  kinsman  to  that  king,  obtained  from 
him  a  grant  of  the  lordship,  valley,  and  forest  of 
Riddesdale,  in  the  county  of  Northumberland,  with 
all  castles,  manors,  lands,  woods,  pastures,  waters, 
pools,  and  royal  franchises  which  were  formerly  pos- 
sessed by  Mildred,  the  son  of  Akman,  late  lord  of 
Riddesdale,  and  which  came  to  that  king  upon  his 
conquest  of  England ;  to  hold  by  the  service  of 
defending  that  part  of  the  country  for  ever  from 
enemies  and  Wolves,  with  the  sword  which  King 
William  had  by  his  side  when  he  entered  North- 
umberland.^ 

1087-1100.       The  inveterate   love   of  the   chase 


*  Freeman's  "  Norman  Conquest." 

f  "  The  name  seems  to  be  derived  from  one  of  the  several  places  iu 
Normandy  now  called  Amfreville,  but  in  some  instances  originally 
Omfreville,  that  is  Humfredi  villa,  the  vill  or  abode  of  Humphrey." 
— LOWER,  Patronymica  Britannica. 

J  See  Dugdale's  "  Baronage,"  vol.  i.  p.  504 ;  and  Blount's  "  Ancient 
Tenures,"  p.  241. 


THE   WOLF.  135 

possessed  by  William  Rufus,  which  prompted  him  to 
-enforce,  during  his  tragical  reign,  the  most  stringent 
and  cruel  forest  laws,  is  too  well  known  to  readers  of 
history  to  require  comment.  It  cannot  be  doubted 
that  in  the  vast  forests*  which  then  covered  the 
greater  part  of  the  country,  and  through  which  he 
•continuously  hunted,  he  must  have  encountered  and 
slain  many  a  Wolf.  Yet,  strange  to  say,  a  careful 
search  through  a  great  number  of  volumes  has  re- 
sulted in  a  failure  to  discover  any  evidence  upon 
this  point,  or  indeed  any  mention  of  the  Wolf  in  con- 
nection with  this  monarch. 

Longstafle,  in  his  account  of  "  Durham  before  the 
Conquest,"  states  that  a  great  increase  of  Wolves 
took  place  in  Richinondshire  during  this  century, 
and  mentions  incidentally  that  Richard  Ingeniator 
-dealing  with  property  at  Wolverston  (called  Olveston 
in  the  time  of  William  Rufus)  sealed  the  grant  with 
an  impression  of  a  Wolf. 

1100-1135.  In  his  passion  for  hunting  wild 
.animals,  Henry  I.  excelled  even  his  brother  William, 
and  not  content  with  encountering  and  slaying  those 
which,  like  the  Wolf  and  the  Wild-boar,  were  at 
that  time  indigenous  to  this  country,  he  "  cherished 
•of  set  purpose  sundrie  kinds  of  wild  beasts,  as  bears, 
libards,  ounces,  lions,  at  Woodstocke  and  one  or  two 
•other  places  in  England,  which  he  walled  about  with 


*  "  The  word  '  forest,'  in  its  original  and  most  extended  sense, 
implied  a  tract  of  land  lying  out  (foras),  that  is,  rejected,  as  of  no 
"value,  in  the  first  distribution  of  property." — WIIITAKER,  History  of 
Whalley,  p.  193. 


136  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

hard  stone  An.  1120,  and  where  he  would  often 
fight  with  some  one  of  them  hand  to  hand."* 

Amongst  other  forest  laws  made  in  this  reign,  was- 
one  which  provided  that  compensation  should  be 
made  for  any  injury  occasioned  during  a  wolf  hunt. 
Si  quis  arcu  vel  balista  de  subitanti,  vel  pedico  ad 
lupos  vel  ad  aliud  capiendum  posito,  dampanum  vel 
inalum  aliquod  recipiat,  solvat  qui  posuitf 

1 156.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  at  this  period, 
and  for  some  time  afterwards,  the  New  Forest,  as  well 
as  the  Forest  of  Bere,  in  Hampshire,  both  favourite 
hunting-grounds  with  William  Rufus  and  his  brother 
Henry,  were  the  strongholds  of  the  Wolf,  as  they 
were  of  the  Wild-boar  and  the  Red-deer,  for  in  the 
second  year  of  the  reign  of  Henry  II.  the  sheriff  of 
Hants  had  an  allowance  made  to  him  in  the  Ex- 
chequer for  several  sums  by  him  disbursed  for  the 
livery  of  the  King's  wolf-hunters,  hawkers,  falconers, 
and  others.  "  Et  in  liberatione  lupariorum  ioo*.r 
et  in  Hberatione  accipitrariorum  et  fahonariorum  Regis 
22li  per  Willelmum  Cumin  "\ 

In  the  fourth  year  of  the  same  reign,  the  sheriffs  of 
London  were  allowed  by  the  Chancellor  405.  out  of  the 
Exchequer  for  the  King's  huntsmen  and  his  dogs,  "  Et 
venatoribus  Regis  et  canibus  ejusxl*.  per  cancellarium.'\ 

Conan,  Duke  of  Brittany  and  Earl  of  Richmond, 

*  Harrison's  "Description  of  England,"  prefixed  to  Holinshed's 
"  Chronicle,"  p.  226. 

"  Leges  Regis  Henrici  primi,"  cap.  90,  §  2. 

|  Madox,  "  History  and  Antiquities  of  the  Exchequer  of  the  King* 
of  England  from  the  Norman  Conquest  to  the  end  of  the  Eeign  of 
Edward  II.,"  vol.  i.  p.  204  (1769). 

§  Madox,  torn.  cit.  p.  207. 


THE   WOLF.  137 

in  1 1 64,  granted,  amongst  other  privileges,  to  the 
Abbey  of  Jourvaulx,  several  pastures  on  the  north 
side  of  the  river  Jore,  reserving  only  liberty  for  his 
deer,  likewise  pasturage  throughout  his  new  forest, 
near  Richmond,  Yorkshire,  for  all  their  cattle,  with 
power  to  keep  hounds  for  chasing  Wolves  out  of 
those  their  territories.^ 

It  is  related  in  the  "Annales  Cambria?"  (Harl. 
MSS.,  No.  3859  on  vellum)  that  in  1 166  a  rabid  Wolf 
at  Caermarthen  bit  twenty-two  persons,  nearly  all 
of  whom  died.t 

In  1167,  the  Bishopric  of  Hereford  was  vested  in 
the  King  in  consequence  of  the  see  being  then  vacant ; 
and  in  the  account  of  John  Cumin,  who  acted  in 
the  capacity  of  Gustos,  we  find  in  the  accounts  of 
the  revenue  and  expenditure  of  the  temporalities  a 
payment  of  i  os.  for  three  Wolves  captured  that  year. 
"  Etpro  tribus  Lupis  capiendis,  xs" 

William  Beriwere  obtained  from  Henry  II.  the 
confirmation  of  all  his  lands,  as  also  the  forestership 
of  the  Forest  of  De  la  Bere,  with  power  to  take  any 
person  transgressing  therein  between  the  bars  of 
Hampton  and  the  gates  of  Winchester,  and  likewise 
between  the  river  of  Ramsey  and  the  river  of  Win- 
chester to  the  sea,  as  amply  as  his  father  had  held 
the  same  in  the  times  of  King  William  and  King 
Henry  I.  From  Richard  I.  (whom  he  accompanied 

*  Dugdale's  "  Baronage,"  vol.  i.  p.  48.  "  Ex.  Kegist.  Archiep. 
Cant."  p.  8;5a. 

•f  "  Apud  Kermerden  lupus  rdbiosus  duo  de  viginto  Jbomtitea 
momordit  qui  omnes  fere  protinus  periereunt."  This  MS.  is  believed 
to  be  a  translation  from  the  original  Welsh.  Ed.  Williams  (Master  of 
the  Rolls  Series),  pp.  50,  51. 


138  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

to  the  Holy  Land,  and  whom  he  was  instrumental 
in  delivering  from  prison  when  that  king  was  con- 
fined in  Germany)  he  obtained  many  valuable  emolu- 
ments as  well  as  large  territorial  grants,  and  in  the 
following  reign  was  no  less  fortunate  with  King 
John,  who,  having  a  great  regard  for  him  in  conse- 
quence of  his  knowledge  in  the  art  and  mystery  of 
venery,  gave  him  license  to  enclose  his  woods  at 
Joare,  Cadelegh,  Baddon,  Ailesberie,  and  Burgh 
Walter,  with  free  liberty  to  hunt  the  hare,  fox,  cat, 
and  Wolf,  throughout  all  Devonshire,  and  likewise 
the  goat  beyond  the  precincts  of  the  forest ;  and  to 
have  free  warren  throughout  all  his  own  lands  for 
hares,  pheasants,  and  partridges.* 

From  a  charter  of  liberties  granted  by  King  John, 
when  Earl  of  Morton,  to  the  inhabitants  of  Devon- 
shire, it  appears  that  the  "Wolf  was  at  that  time 
included  amongst  the  "  beasts  of  venery  "  in  that 
county.  The  original  deed,  which  is  still  pre- 
served in  the  custody  of  the  Dean  and  Chapter  of 
Exeter,  is  under  seal,  and  provides  inter  alia  as 
follows : — 

"  Quod  habeant  canes  suos  et  alias  libertates,  sicut 
melius  et  liberius  illas  haberunt  tempore  ejusd.  Henrici 
regis  et  reisellos  suos,  et  quod  capiant  capreolum, 
vulpem,  cattum,  lupum,  Icporem,  lutram,  ubicumque 
ilia  invenirent  extra  regardum  forestce  mece."^ 

1209.     Mr.  Evelyn  P.  Shirley  has  printed  J  two 

*  Dugdale's  "  Baronage,"  vol.  i.  p.  701. 

f  Ex  Autographo  penes  Dec.  et  Capit.  Exon.    From  Bp.  Lyttelton's 
Collection.       Quoted  by  Pennant,  "  British  Zoology,"  vol.  ii.  p.  308. 
J  "  Collectanea  Topographica  et  Genealogica,"  vol.  vi.  p.  299. 


THE   WOLF.  139 

deeds  of  the  loth  of  John  relating  to  the  manor  of 
Henwick,  in  the  parish  of  Bulwick,  county  North- 
ampton, held  by  the  tenure  of  hunting  the  Wolf 
(fwj acorn  lupi),  and  he  suggests  that  from  this 
tenure  probably  the  family  of  Luvet  or  Lovett, 
originally  of  Rushton,  and  afterwards  of  Astwell, 
in  the  county  of  Northampton,  bore,  for  their  arms  : 
Argent,  three  Wolves,  passant,  in  pale,  sable,  armed 
and  langued,  gules.  * 

1212.  In  this  year,  when  the  neighbourhood  around 
Kingsclere  was  all  forest,  an  entry  occurs  in  the 
Patent  Rolls  of  a  payment  of  55.  as  a  reward  for  the 
capture  of  a  Wolf  at  Freemantle.  t  The  Roll  referred 
to  is  doubtless  the  Eotulus  Misce,  annis  Regis  Johannis 
quartodecimi  (1212-1213),  where  the  following  entries 
occur  relating  to  the  capture  or  chase  of  the  Wolf : — 

"  On  Thursday  next  in  the  octave  of  the  Holy 
Trinity  [May  12],  for  a  Wolf  captured  at  Freemantle, 
[Surrey]  by  the  dogs  of  Master  Ernald  de  Auc- 
lent,  5s." 

"Item,  [at  Hereford].  Thursday  next  following 
the  Feast  of  St.  Martin  [Nov.  22]  to  Norman  the 
keeper  of  the  Veltrars,J  and  to  Wilkin  Doggett,  his 
associate,  for  two  Wolves  captured  in  the  forest  of 
Irwell,  10.9.,  by  the  king's  command,  &c." 

"  Item.  Wednesday  next  following   the  Feast  of 


*  The  Wolf  frequently  appears  on  heraldic  bearings. 

t  "  Patent  Kolls,"  May  31,  1212,  quoted  in  "  Sussex  Archaeological 
Collections,"  xxiv.  p.  161. 

J  VeUrarius,  or  vautrarius,  from  the  French  vault-re,  was  a  mongrel 
hound  for  the  chase  of  the  wild-boar.  See  Blount,  "  Ancient  Tenures," 
P-  233- 


1 40  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

St.  Gregory  [March  12],  for  two  Wolves  captured, 
one  at  Boscha  de  Furchiis,  the  other  at  Willes,  i  os. , 
given  to  Smalobbe  and  Wilck,  the  keepers  of  the 
veltrario  of  Thomas  de  Sandford." 

It  is  perhaps  not  generally  known  that  the  cir- 
cumstance narrated  in  the  story  of  Bedd  Gelert, 
with  which  every  one  is  familiar,  is  said  to  have 
occurred  in  the  reign  of  King  John,  and,  as  it  is  a 
story  of  a  British  Wolf,  it  is  scarcely  to  be  passed 
over  here  without  some  brief  notice,  the  more  so  as 
it  is  not  at  all  unlikely  that  it  is  founded  on  fact. 

The  tradition,  as  related  by  Bingley  in  his  "  Tour 
round  North  Wales,"*  is  to  the  effect  that  Llewellyn, 
who  was  Prince  of  Wales  in  the  reign  of  King  John, 
resided  at  the  foot  of  Snowdon,  and,  amongst  a 
number  of  other  hounds  which  he  possessed,  had  one 
of  rare  excellence  which  had  been  given  to  him  by 
the  king.  On  one  occasion,  during  the  absence  of 
the  family,  a  Wolf  entered  the  house;  and  Llewellyn, 
who  first  returned,  was  met  at  the  door  by  his 
favourite  dog,  who  came  out,  covered  with  blood,  to 
greet  his  master.  The  prince,  alarmed,  ran  into  the 
house,  to  find  his  child's  cradle  overturned,  and  the 
ground  flowing  with  blood.  In  a  moment  of  terror, 
imagining  that  the  dog  had  killed  the  child,  he 
plunged  his  sword  into  his  body,  and  laid  him  dead 
on  the  spot.  But,  on  turning  up  the  cradle,  he 
found  his  boy  alive  and  sleeping  by  the  side  of  the 
dead  Wolf.  This  circumstance  had  such  an  effect  011 

*  "A  Tour  round  North  Wales,"  1800,  vol.  i.  p.  363.  See  also 
Sir  John  Carr's  "  Stranger  in  Ireland,"  4to,  1806. 


THE   WOLF.  141 

the  mind  of  the  prince,  that  he  erected  a  tomb  over 
the  faithful  dog's  grave  on  the  spot  where  afterwards 
the  parish  church  was  built,  called  from  this  incident 
Bedd  Gelert,  or  the  grave  of  Gelert.  From  this 
story  was  derived  the  common  Welsh  proverb,  "I 
repent  as  much  as  the  man  who  slew  his  greyhound. " 

The  dog  referred  to  belonged  probably  to  the  race 
called  by  Pennant  "the  Highland  gre-hound,"  of 
great  size  and  strength,  deep-chested,  and  covered 
with  long  rough  hair.  This  kind  was  much  esteemed  in 
former  days,  and  was  used  for  hunting  by  all  the  great 
chieftains  in  preference  to  any  other.  Boethius  styles  it 
"  genus  venaticum  cum  celerrimum  turn  audacissimum." 

1216-1272.  In  the  following  reign  of  Henry  III. 
Wolves  were  sufficiently  numerous  in  some  parts  of 
the  country  to  induce  the  king  to  make  grants  of 
land  to  various  individuals  upon  the  express  con- 
dition of  their  taking  measures  to  destroy  these 
animals  wherever  they  could  be  found. 

In  1242  it  appears  that  Vitalis  Engaine  made 
partition  with  William  de  Cantelupe,  Baron  of  Ber- 
gavenny,  of  the  manor  of  Badmundesfield,  in  Suffolk, 
as  heir  to  William  de  Curtenai,  and  the  same  year 
had  a  summons,  amongst  divers  great  men,  to  attend 
the  king,  well  appointed  with  horse  and  arms,  in 
his  expedition  into  France.  He  died  in  1 249,  seized, 
inter  alia,  of  part  of  the  lordships  of  Laxton  and 
Pichesle,  in  the  county  of  Northampton,  held  by 
"petit  serjeanty" — viz.,  to  hunt  the  Wolf  whensoever 
the  kiny  should  command* 

*  Dngdale's  "  Baronage,"  vol.  i.  p.  466. 


142  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS, 

Selden,  in  his  notes  to  Dray  ton's  "  Polyolbion" 
(ix.  76),  refers  to  the  manor  of  Piddlesey  in  Leices- 
tershire, which  was  held  by  one  Henry  of  Angage 
per  serjeantiam  capiendi  lupos,  and  quotes  as  his 
authority  "Itin.  Leicesters.  27  Hen.  III.  in  Archiv. 
Turr.  Lond."  In  the  same  reign,  William  de  Limeres 
held  of  the  king,  in  capiie,  in  the  county  of  South- 
ampton, one  carucate*  of  land  in  Comelessend  by 
the  service  of  hunting  the  Wolf  with  the  king's 
dogs.t 

1272-1307.  In  the  third  year  of  the  reign  of 
Edward  I.,  namely,  in  1275,  Sir  John  d'Engayne, 
knight,  and  Elena  d'Engayne,  his  wife,  held  lands  in 
Pightesley,  in  the  county  of  Northampton,  by  the 
service  of  hunting  the  Wolf,  for  his  pleasure,  in  that 
county,  J  from  which  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  this 
animal  was  then  common  enough  to  be  hunted  for 
sport,  as  the  fox  is  now-a-days.  Other  lands  in  the 
same  county  were  held  at  this  time  on  condition  of 
the  tenant  finding  dogs  "for  the  destruction  of 
Wolves"  and  other  animals. §  It  appears  by  the 
Patent  Eolls  of  the  Qth  year  of  Edward  I.  that  in 
1280,  John  Giffard  of  Brymmesfield  or  Brampfield, 
was  empowered  to  destroy  the  Wolves  in  all  the 
king's  forests  throughout  the  realm.  || 

In  1281,  Peter  Corbet  was  commissioned  to  destroy 

*  Carucate,  a  plough  land.  As  much  arable  land  as  one  plough, 
with  the  animals  that  worked  it,  could  cultivate  in  a  year. 

f  Esc.  temp.  H.  B,  fil.  E.  Johannis.  Harl.  MS.  Brit.  Mus.  No.  ;o8,p.  8. 

J  Plac.  Coron.  3  Edw.  I.  Eot.  20,  dorso.  Blount,  "  Ancient 
Tenures,"  p.  230. 

§  Camden,  "Britannia,"  p.  525,  and  Blount,  p.  257. 

j|  "  Calend.  Eot.  Pat,"  49.     See  also  Eymer's  "  Foedera,''  sub  anno. 


THE   WOLF.  143 

all  the  Wolves  he  could  find  in  the  counties  of 
Gloucester,  Worcester,  Hereford.  Salop,  and  Stafford, 
and  the  bailiffs  in  the  several  counties  were  directed 
to  be  ready  and  assist  him.  The  commission,  which 
has  been  frequently  referred  to  by  different  writers, 
runs  as  follows  : — • 

"  Pro  Petro  Corbet,  de  lupis  capiendis. 

"Rex,  omnibus  Ballivis,  &c.  Sciatis  quod  in- 
j  unximus  delecto  et  fideli  nostro  Petro  Corbet  quod  in 
omnibus  forestis  et  parcis  et  aliis  locis  intra  comitatus 
nostros  Gloucester,  Wygorn,  Hereford,  Salop,  et 
Stafford,  in  quibus  lupi  poterunt  inveniri,  lupos  cum 
hominibus  canibus  et  ingeniis  suis  capiat  et  destruat 
modis  omnibus  quibus  viderit  expedire. 

"  Et  ideo  vobis  mandamus  quod  idem  intendentes 
et  auxiliantes  estis. 

"  Teste  rege  apud  Westm.  14  Maii  A.I>.  1281."* 

In  the  Wardrobe  Accounts  of  Edward  I.  pre- 
served in  the  British  Museum  (Add.  MS.  No.  7966) 
anno  29  Edw.  I.  (1301),  the  following  entry  occurs  : — 

"April  29.  To  the  huntsman  of  Sir  Peter  Corbet,  deceased,  for 
bringing  to  the  King  the  dogs  which  belonged  to  the  said  Peter  at  the 
time  of  his  death  ....  6s.  8t7. 

In  1285,  William  de  Reynes  held  two  carucatesf 
of  land  at  Boy  ton,  in  the  parish  of  Finchingfield,  in 
the  county  of  Essex,  by  the  serjeanty  of  keeping  for 
the  king  five  Wolf-dogs  (canes  luporarios).\  In  the 

*  Eymer's  "  Focdera,"  i.  pt.  2,  p.  192  ;   ii.  p.  168. 
f  See  note  on  last  page. 

*  Plac.  Coron.  13 Edw.  I.  Essex;  Blount,  "  Ancient  Tenures," p.  236. 


144  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

following  year,  John  Engaine  was  returned  as  hold- 
ing one  carucate  of  land  in  Great  Gidding,  in  the 
county  of  Huntingdon,  by  the  serjeanty  of  hunting 
the  Wolf,  fox,  and  wild  cat,  and  driving  away  all 
vermin  out  of  the  forest  of  the  king  in  that  county.* 
About  the  same  time,  Richard  Engaine  held  one 
hundred  shillings  of  land  in  the  town  of  Guedding,  in 
the  county  of  Cambridge,  by  the  serjeanty  of  taking 
Wolves,  and  he  was  to  do  this  service  daily  (et 
facit  servi*  suum  cotidie)^  from  which  it  may  be 
inferred  that  Wolves  at  this  date  were  particularly 
troublesome.  Indeed,  it  is  recorded  that  during  this 
reign  in  a  certain  park  at  Farley  the  deer  were 
entirely  destroyed  by  Wolves.  J 

In  1297  John  Engaine  died,  seized,  inter  alia,  of 
certain  lands  in  Pytesle,  Northampton,  found  to  be 
held  of  the  king  by  the  service  of  hunting  the  Wolf,  fox 
[cat],  badger  [wild  boar,  and  hare]  ;  and  likewise  the 
manor  of  Great  Gidding  in  com.  Huntendon,  held  by 
the  service  of  catching  the  hare,  fox,  cat,  and  Wolf 
within  the  counties  of  Huntendon,  Northampton, 
Buckingham,  and  Roteland.§ 

In  the  accounts  of  Bolton  Priory,  quoted  in 
Whitaker's  "History  of  Craven"  (p.  331),  occur 
entries  in  the  years  1306-1307,  of  payments  made  in 

*  "Plac.  Coron.  14  Edw.  I.  Rot.  7,"  dorso ;  Blount,  p.  230. 

t  "  Testa  de  Nevil,"  p.  358 ;  Blount,  p.  262. 

J  "  Will.  Poer  fecit  parcum  apud  Farley  et  quod  pater  Comitis 
Gilbert!  de  Clare  comes  Gloucestriae  dedit  ei  quasdam  feras  ad  prre  - 
dictum  parcum  instaurandum,  quae  ferae  per  lupos  destruebantur." 
1 8  Edw.  I.  (1290)  Wygorn.  rot.  50  in  abbreviat.  Eotul. 

§  Dugdale's  "Baronage,"  vol.  i.  p.  466.  See  also  the  Eotuli 
Hundredorum,  ii.  p.  627. 


THE    WOLF.  145 

reward  for  the  slaughter  of  Wolves,  as  "  Cuidam  qui 
occidit  lupum"  but  the  price  paid  to  the  slayer  is  not 
stated.  Whitaker  in  a  note  to  this  remarks : — 
"  Wolves,  therefore,  though  rare,  were  not  extinct 
in  Craven  in  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury. This  is  an  important  circumstance." 

1307-1327.  In  the  fourth  year  of  Edward  II. 
(1311)  a  composition  was  made  between  Sir  John 
de  Mowbray,  son  and  heir  of  Sir  Roger  de  Mowbray, 
of  the  one  part,  and  the  Abbot  of  Selby  of  the  other 
part,  whereby  the  said  Sir  John  quitclaimed  and 
released  to  the  abbot  all  his  right  in  the  soil  and 
manor  of  Crowle  and  other  places  therein  mentioned, 
and  the  abbot  and  convent  granted  to  the  said  Sir 
John  de  Mowbray  certain  woods,  saving  their  free 
warren  of  goats,  foxes,  Wolves,  conies,  &c.* 

The  king's  forest  of  the  Peak  in  Derbyshire  was 
of  great  extent,  and  about  this  time  was  much  in- 
fested with  Wolves.  A  family  of  the  hereditary  name 
of  Wolfhunt  held  lands  by  the  service  of  keeping  the 
forest  clear  of  these  destructive  animals.t  From  the 
records  in  the  Tower  of  London  (13  Edw.  II.)  it 
appears  that  in  1320  some  persons  held  lands  at 
Wormhill,  in  the  county  of  Derby,  by  the  service  of 
hunting  and  taking  Wolves,  from  whence  they  were 
called  Wolfhunt  or  Wolvehunt. 

Mr.  W.  H.  G.  Bagshawe,  of  Ford  Hall,  Chapel-en- 

*  Burton,  "  Monasticon  Eboracense,"  p.  389.  The  Abbots  of  Selby 
and  of  St.  Mary,  at  York,  were  the  only  two  mitred  abbots  in  York- 
shire. 

f  'The  Local  Laws,  Courts,  and  Customs  of  Derbyshire,'  "  Journ. 
Brit.  Archseol.  Assoc."  vol.  vii.  p.  197. 


146  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

le-Frith,  Derbyshire,  a  descendant  of  the  same  family 
as  Mr.  F.  W.  Bagshawe,  the  present  owner  of  Worm- 
hill  Hall,  in  reply  to  inquiries  on  the  subject,  has  been 
good  enough  to  write  as  follows  : — 

"  With  the  particulars  in  Blount's  '  Tenures  '  I 
have  long  been  familiar,  but  I  am  sorry  to  say  that 
I  cannot  add  to  them.  Wormhill  Hall  was  never, 
so  far  as  I  know,  held  under  the  tenure  of  destroying 
Wolves,  but  it  is  most  probable  that  a  portion  of  the 
lands  there  were  originally  held  by  the  tenure  of 
preserving  the  king's  'verte  and  venyson'  in  his 
forest  of  the  Peak.  There  is  a  tradition  that  the 
last  Wolf  in  England  was  killed  at  Wormhill,  but  I 
never  saw  any  evidence  of  it,  nor  did  I  ever  hear  any 
date  assigned.  In  my  pedigree  of  our  family  I  find 
a  note  to  the  effect  that  John  de  1'Hall  (the  ancestor 
of  John  de  1'Hall,  whose  daughter  Alice  was  the  wife 
of  Nicholas  Bagshawe)  was  appointed  a  forester 
(of  fee,  I  suppose)  to  the  king  by  deed  dated  1349."* 

In  1321  William  Michell,  son  and  heir  of  John 
Michell,  held  a  messuage  and  land  at  Middelton 
Lillebon,  co.  Wilts,  of  the  king  in  capite,  by  the 
serjeanty  of  keeping  his  Wolf-dogs — per  serjantiam 
custodiendi  canes  luparios  Eegis.^ 

1327-1377.  So  far  as  can  be  gathered  from  history, 
it  would  seem  that  while  stringent  measures  were 
being  devised  for  the  destruction  of  Wolves  in  all  or 
most  of  the  inhabited  districts  which  they  frequented, 

*  Camden, "  Britannia,"  tit.  Derbyshire,  i.  p.  591 ;  Blount,  "  Ancient 
Tenures,"  p.  250. 

f  Luparios  elsewhere  hiporarios ;  Harl.  MS.  Brit.  Mus.  No.  134, 
p.  80.  Blount,  "  Ancient  Tenures,"  p.  258. 


THE    WOLF.  147 

in  the  less  populous  and  more  remote  parts  of  the 
country,  steps  were  taken  by  such  of  the  principal 
landowners  as  were  fond  of  hunting  to  secure  their 
own  participation  in  the  sport  of  finding  and  killing 
them. 

In  Edward  III.'s  time,  Conan,  Duke  of  Brittany, 
in  1342,  gave  pasture  for  cattle  through  all  his  new 
forest  at  Richmond  in  Yorkshire  to  the  inmates  of  the 
Abbey  of  Fors  in  Wensleydale,  forbidding  them  to  use 
any  mastiffs  to  drive  the  Wolves  from  their  pastures.'"' 

In  the  same  year,  Alan,  Earl  of  Brittany,  gave 
them  common  of  pasture  through  all  his  forest  of 
"  Wandesley-dale  ;"  and  to  cut  as  much  grass  for  hay 
as  they  might  have  occasion  for,  and  also  gave  them 
leave  to  take  such  materials  out  of  the  said  forest 
to  build  their  houses,  and  for  other  uses ;  and 
such  iron  and  lead  as  the  monks  found  they  might 
apply  to  their  own  use ;  and  if  the  monks  or  their 
servants  found  any  flesh  of  wild  beasts  in  the  forest, 
killed  by  Wolves,  they  might  take  it  to  their  own  use.f 

In  1 348,  we  find  that  Alan,  son  and  heir  of  Walter 
de  Wulf  hunte,  paid  a  fine  to  the  king  of  2s.  4^.  for 
his  relief  in  respect  of  lands  at  Mansfield  Woodhouse 
in  the  county  of  Nottingham,  which  he  held  by  the 
service  of  hunting  Wolves  out  of  the  forest  of  Shire- 
wood,  if  he  should  find  any  of  them.  J 

*  Escheat,  15  &  16  Edw.  III.  No.  76,  in  Turr.  Lond.  See  also 
Burton,  "Monasticon  Eboracense,"  p.  370.  The  Abbey  of  Fors,  in 
Wensleydale,  was  founded  in  1 145  (Whitaker). 

•j-  Burton,  loc.  cit. 

J  Determine  Trin.  anno  21  Edw.  III.  Rot.  i.  Harl.  M.S.  Brit. 
Mus.  No.  34,  p.  166.  Blount,  "  Ancient  Tenures,"  p.  258. 

L 


r48  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

Thomas  Engaine,  dying  without  issue  in  1 368,  was 
found  to  be  seized  of  14  yardlands  and  meadow,  and 
1 45.  4-d.  rent,  in  Pightesle,  in  the  county  of  North- 
ampton, held  by  the  service  of  finding,  at  his  own 
proper  costs,  certain  dogs  for  the  destruction  of 
Wolves,  foxes,  martens,  cats,  and  other  vermin  within 
the  counties  of  Northampton,  Roteland,  Oxford, 
Essex,  and  Buckingham.* 

1 377-1 399-  In  Richard  II. 's  reign  Wolves  must 
have  been  common  enough  in  the  forests  of  York- 
shire, for  in  the  account-rolls  of  Whitby  Abbey, 
amongst  the  disbursements  made  between  1 394  and 
1396,  we  find  the  following  entry  of  a  payment  for 
dressing  Wolf  skins  : — 

Pro  tewyngf  xiiij  pellium  luporum      .     .     .     .     10.  ixrf. 

Doubtless  the  skins  of  animals  killed  in  some  great 
raid  made  upon  them  at  the  instigation  of  the 
Abbey. 

1399-1413.  In  Henry  IV.'sreign,  Sir  Thomas  de 
Aylesbury,  knight,  and  Catharine  his  wife,  held  of  the 
king,  in  capite,  the  manor  of  Laxton,  inter  alia,  with 
appurtenances  in  the  county  of  Northampton,  by 
"grand  serjeanty  " — viz.,  by  the  service  of  taking- 
Wolves,  foxes,  wild  cats,  and  other  vermin  in  the 
counties  of  Northampton,  Rutland,  Oxford,  Essex, 
Huntingdon,  and  Buckingham.! 

Shakespeare  has  pictured  wolves  as  existing  in  Kent 

*  Rot.  fin.  42  Edw.  III.  m.  13.  Dugdale's  "Baronage,"  vol.  i. 
p.  467  ;  and  Blount,  "Ancient  Tenures,"  p.  231. 

f  To  "  tew,"  or  "  taw,"  an  obsolete  word  signifying  to  beat  and  dress 
leather  with  alum.  Nares,  "  Glossary." 

J  Blount,  op.  cit.  p.  260. 


THE    WOLF.  149 

in  the  time  of  Henry  VI.  When  the  Duke  of  Suffolk 
lands  at  night  upon  the  shore  near  Dover,  he  hears 

"  Loud  howling  wolves  arouse  the  jades 
That  drag  the  tragic  melancholy  night." 

Second  Part  of  Henry  VI.,  act  iv.  sc.  i. 

This  may  or  may  not  be  a  poetic  license.  At  all 
events,  no  evidence  on  the  subject  is  now  forth- 
coming, and  we  must  turn,  therefore,  to  some  more 
reliable  source  of  information. 

1422-1461.  In  the  eleventh  year  of  Henry  VI. 
(1433),  Sir  Robert  Plumpton,  Knight,  was  seized  of 
one  bovate  of  land  in  Mansfield  Woodhouse,  in  the 
county  of  Nottingham,  called  Wolf-hunt  land,  held 
by  the  service  of  winding  a  horn  and  chasing  or 
frightening  the  Wolves  in  the  forest  of  Shirewood.* 
This  tenure  is  particularly  referred  to  by  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Pegge  in  his  Paper  "  On  the  Horn  as  a 
Charter  or  Instrument  of  Conveyance,  "t  A  coloured 
plate  of  an  ancient  horn  of  the  kind  referred  to,  in 
the  possession  of  the  late  Lord  Ribblesdale,  will  be 
found  in  Whitaker's  "  History  and  Antiquities  of  the 
Deanery  of  Craven"  (1805),  p.  34. 

In  the  seventeenth  year  of  the  reign  of  Henry  VI., 
namely,  in  1439,  Robert  Umfraville,  a  descendant,  no 
doubt,  of  the  Robert  de  Umfraville  mentioned  in 
1076,  held  the  castle  of  Herbotell  and  manor  of 
Otterburn,  of  the  king,  in  capite,  by  the  service 
of  keeping  the  valley  and  liberty  of  Riddesdale, 

*  Escaet.  11  Hen.  VI.  n.  5.  Blount,  p.  312. 

f  "  Archscologia,"  vol.  iii.  p.  3.  See  also  Thoroton,  "  Autiq. 
Nottingham,"  p,  273 ;  and  Strutt,  "  Sporta  and  Pastimes,"  p.  19. 

L  2 


1 5o  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

where  the  said  castle  and  manor  are  situated,  free 
from  Wolves  and  robbers.* 

1461-1483.  If  no  particular  mention  of  Wolves  is 
to  be  met  with  in  the  days  of  Edward  IV.,  his- 
reign  would  nevertheless  deserve  notice  here  from 
the  fact  that  at  this  period  lived  Juliana  Barnes, 
or  Berners,  a  lady  of  an  ancient  and  illustrious  house, 
who  was  commonly  styled  the  Diana  of  her  age,  and 
who  writ  or  compiled  divers  treatises  on  Hunting, 
Hawking,  Fishing,  and  Heraldry,  f 

In  her  "Book  of  St.  Albans,"  written  about  1481, 
and  first  printed  in  1486,  she  includes  the  Wolf 
amongst  the  beasts  of  venery,  and  thus  instructs  her 
readers  on  the  subject  : — 

"  Wheresoeure  ye  fare  by  fryth  or  by  fell : 
My  dere  chylde  take  hede  how  TristramJ  cloo  you  tell, 
How  many  manere  bestys  of  venery  there  were  : 
Lysten  to  your  dame,  and  she  shall  you  lere.  , 

Foure  maner  bestys  of  venery  there  are  : 
The  fyrste  of  theym  is  the  Jiarte,  the  seconde  is  the  hare, 
The  ~boore  is  one  of  tho  :  the  wulfc  and  not  one  mo." 

The  old  books  on  hunting  state  that  the  season  for 
hunting  the  Wolf  was  between  the  25th  of  December 
and  the  2$th  of  March.  This  of  course  was  only 
so  long  as  Wolf-hunting  was  an  amusement  and  a 
royal  sport.  As  soon  as  it  became  a  necessity,  and  a 
price  was  set  on  the  animal's  head,  it  was  killed 
whenever  and  wherever  it  could  be  found. 

1485-1509.     Some  time  between  these  two  dates, 

*  Madox,  "  Baronia  Anglica,"  p.  244. 

f  Longstaffe,  "  Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  Ambrose  Barnes"  (Surtees 
Society),  1867,  p.  27. 

J  Manwood,  in  his  "  Forest  Laws,"  mentions  "  Sir  Tristram,"  an 
ancient  forester,  in  his  worthy  treatise  of  hunting. 


THE  WOLF.  151 

•during  the  reign  of  Henry  VII.,  it  is  probable  that 
the  Wolf  became  finally  extirpated  in  England, 
although  for  nearly  two  centuries  later,  as  will  pre- 
sently appear,  it  continued  to  hold  out  against  its 
persecutors  in  Scotland  and  Ireland.  That  it  was 
rare  if  not  quite  extinct  in  England  about  this  time, 
may  be  inferred  from  the  circumstance  that  little  or 


A  -WOLF-HUNT.      FROM  AN   ENGRAVING  OF  THE  SIXTEENTH   CENTURY. 

no  mention  is  made  of  it  either  in  this  or  any 
subsequent  reign.  It  is  true  Professor  Newton, 
.in  his  "Zoology  of  Ancient  Europe,"  has  stated 
(p.  24)  that  the  Wolf  was  found  in  the  North 
<>f  England  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII,  a  statement 
which  has  been  also  advanced,  or  copied,  by  other 


1 5  2  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

writers,*  but  we  have  not  met  with  any  proof  of  this. 
Indeed,  Professor  Newton  has  lately  been  good 
enough  to  inform  us  that  he  has  forgotten  his- 
authority  for  the  statement,  and  thinks  it  possible  a 
reference  to  the  MS.  of  his  essay,  which  was  not 
preserved,  would  show  that,  by  a  typographical 
error,  the  numerals  VIII.  were  printed  for  VII. 

In  Longstaffe's  "  Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  Ambrose 
Barnes,"t  it  is  stated  that  "  his  immediate  ancestors 
held  an  estate  of  500^.  a  year  of  the  Earls  of  Rutland 
and  Belvoir,  one  of  whom  (a  Barnes  of  Hatford  near 
Barnard  Castle)  was  commonly  called  Ambrose  '  Roast 
wolf/  from  the  many  wolves  which  he  hunted 
down  and  destroyed  in  the  time  of  Henry  VII.  "| 

In  a  footnote  to  this  passage,  the  editor  remarks 
that  "  the  statement  must  be  taken  cum  grano  salis. 
Belvoir  is  not  a  title,  and  the  Manners  family  did 
not  become  Earls  of  Rutland  until  1525,  in  the  reign 
of  Henry  VIII.  §  On  the  other  hand,  the  period  of 
VII.  is  late  for  wolves,  although  Richmondshire 
might  well  yield  some  of  the  latest  specimens  in 
England.  Doubtless  they  were  familiarly  associated 
with  wildness  of  country  long  after  their  extinction. 
Many  a  tradition  would  linger  in  the  families  of  their 
destroyers.  Ambrose  '  Roast  Wolf '  was  probably  a 
real  person  of  some  date  or  other." 

*  Wise's  "  New  Forest,  its  History  and  its  Scenery,"  p.  14. 

f  "Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  Mr.  Ambrose  Barnes,  late  Merchant 
and  sometime  Alderman  of  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,"  p.  28.  (Surtees 
Society,  1867.) 

J  See  also  Longstaffe's  "  Durham  before  the  Conquest,"  p.  49. 

§  It  is  possible  that  a  typographical  error  may  have  been  made  here 
also,  and  that  Ambrose  "  Eoast  Wolf  "  may  have  lived  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  VIII.,  not  Henry  VII. 


THE   WOLF.  153 

Within  the  precincts  of  Saver nake  Forest,  the  pro- 
perty of  the  Marquis  of  Ailesbury,  near  Marlborough, 
there  is  still  existing  a  very  old  barn  and  part  of  a 
house,  known  as  "  Wolf  Hall/'  or  "  Wulf-hall."  It 
was  the  ancient  residence  of  the  Seymours,  and  when 
Henry  VIII.  married  Lady  Jane  Seymour  it  was 
here  that  he  came  a-courting,  here  that  he  was 
married,  and  in  this  barn  the  wedding  festivities  are 
said  to  have  taken  place.  In  reply  to  an  inquiry 
whether  any  tradition  exists  in  the  county  to  explain 
the  name  "  Wolf  Hall,"  the  Rev.  A.  C.  Smith,  of 
Yatesbury  Rectory,  Calne,  has  obligingly  written  as 
follows  : — "  It  is  supposed  to  have  had  nothing  to 
do  with  the  animal  'Wolf/ but  rather  with  '  Ulf/ 
the  owner's  name,  if  there  was  such  a  person,  and 
in  the  Domesday  record  it  is  spelt  'Ulfhall.'*  At 
the  same  time  I  must  add  that  Leland  in  his  Itine- 
rary (ix.  36)  calls  it  in  Latin  '  Lupinum  villa 
splendida,'  and  again  in  his  poem  on  the  birth  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  afterwards  King  Edward  VI., 
Incoluit  villam,  quce  nomine  dicta  lupinum.'^  Bishop 
Turner  also  ("Bibl.  Brit.  Hibern.")  speaks  of  certain 
epistles  written  by  Edward,  the  future  Protector, 
son  of  John  Seymour,  '  de  Puteo  Lupino,  vulgo  Wolf- 
hall'  So  I  am  not  so  certain  that  the  derivation  is 
not  from  the  animal.  At  all  events,  it  is  quite  clear 
that  no  place  could  be  more  fitted  for  Wolves  than 
the  wild  extensive  forest  of  Savernake  hard  by  ; 
indeed,  if  Wolves  existed  at  all  in  England  now,  that 
would  be  just  the  very  harbour  for  them." 

*  See  Wilts  Archaeological  Magazine,  June  1875,  p.  143. 

f  "  Genethliacon  illustrissimiEluardi  Principis  Cambrioe,"  1543- 


1 5  4  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMAL  S. 

Many  names  of  places  compounded  with  "Wolf" 
still  remain  to  attest  probably  the  former  existence  of 
this  animal  in  the  neighbourhood.  Wolmer — i.e., 
Wolfmere  or  Wolvemere — is  an  instance  of  this. 
Wolfer  ton  is  another.  Besides  these,  we  have  Wolfscote, 
Derbyshire ;  Wolfharncote,  Warwickshire  ;  Wolfer- 
low,  Hereford ;  Wolfs  Castle,  Pembroke ;  and  Wolf- 
pits,  [Radnorshire  ;  the  last  named  very  suggestive,  as 
indicating  probably  a  former  burial-place  for  the 
carcases  of  Wolves  brought  in  during  the  period  of 
their  persecution  in  Wales.  In  the  parish  of  West 
Chiltington,  near  Pulborough,  Sussex,  on  the  south 
edge  of  the  lower  greensand  formation  which  over- 
looks the  Weald,  is  a  spot  called  "  Wolfscrag,"  where, 
tradition  says,  the  last  Wolf  of  the  Weald  was  killed. 
Three  fields  in  the  neighbourhood  still  bear  the  respec- 
tive names  of  Great  Den,  Little  Den,  and  Far  Den 
fields. 

Wolfenden  in  Rossendale,  and  Wolfstones  in 
Cliviger  (Lancashire),  both  attest  the  existence  of 
this  animal  there  when  those  names  were  imposed.* 
Many  other  instances,  no  doubt,  might  be  adduced. 
In  the  parish  of  Beckermont,  Cumberland,  is  a  small 
hill,  commonly  called  "  Wotobank."  A  traditionary 
story,  of  great  antiquity,  says  that  a  lord  of  Becker- 
mont and  his  lady  and  servants  were  one  time 
hunting  the  Wolf;  during  the  chase  this  lord  missed 
his  lady  ;  after  a  long  and  painful  search,  they  at  last, 

*  Whitaker,  "  History  of  Whalley,"  i.  p.  74.  "  The  first  mention 
of  Rossendale  by  name  is  in  the  memorable  story  of  Liwlphus,  Dean 
of  Whalley,  who,  at  a  place  called  Ledmesgreve,  cut  off  the  tail  of  a 
Wolf  in  hunting"  (torn.  cit.  p.  316.) 


THE    WOLF.  155 

to  his  inexpressible  sorrow,  found  her  body  lying  on 
this  hill  or  bank,  slain  by  a  Wolf,  and  the  ravenous 
beast  in  the  very  act  of  tearing  it  to  pieces,  till 
frightened  by  the  dogs.  In  the  first  transports  of 
his  grief  the  first  words  that  he  uttered  were,  "  Woe 
to  this  bank  !"  since  which  time  it  has  been  com- 
monly called  "  Wotobank."* 

In  Lancashire,  Dr.  Whitaker  particularly  mentions 
the  great  forests  of  Blackburnshire  and  Bowland  as 
"  among  the  last  retreats  of  the  Wolf."t 

The  "  wolds"  of  Yorkshire  appear,  from  the  dates 
of  parish  books,  to  have  been  infested  with  Wolves 
perhaps  later  than  any  other  part  of  England. 

"  In  the  entries  at  Flixton,  Hackston,  and  Folk- 
ston,  in  the  East  Riding  of  Yorkshire,"  says  Elaine, 
"  are  still  to  be  seen  memoranda  of  payments  made 
for  the  destruction  of  Wolves  at  a  certain  rate  per 
head.  They  used  to  breed  in  the  '  cars'  below, 
amongst  the  rushes,  furze,  and  bogs,  and  in  the 
night-time  to  come  up  from  their  dens  ;  and,  unless 
the  sheep  had  been  previously  driven  into  the  town, 
or  the  shepherds  were  indefatigably  vigilant,  great 
numbers  were  sure  to  be  destroyed."  j 

Apparently,  however,  some  error  has  been  made  in 
the  orthography  of  the  localities  referred  to.  Flixton 
is  in  the  parish  of  Folkton,  near  Scarboro'.  We  can- 

*  Hutchinson,  "  Hist,  and  Antiq.  Cumberland"  (1794),  vol.  ii.  p.  16. 
Upon  tins  tradition  was  founded  an  "  elegant  elegiac  tale  "  by  Mrs. 
Cowley,  which  will  be  found  prefixed  to  the  second  volume  of  the 
work  quoted. 

f  Op.  cit.  i.  p.  205.  The  last  herd  of  red  deer  was  destroyed  there 
in  1805. 

J  Elaine's  "Encyclop.  Rural  Sports"  (1858),  p.  105. 


156  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

not  find  that  there  is  any  such  place  as  "  Hackston  ;" 
but  Staxton  adjoins  the  other  places  named,  and  is 
in  the  parish  of  Willerby.  The  Vicar  of  Willerby, 
the  Rev.  G.  Day,  at  our  request  most  obligingly 
instituted  a  search,  but  could  not  succeed  in  finding 
any  parish  books  of  any  kind  to  throw  light  on  the 
subject.  He  writes  :  "  There  are  no  gentry  resident  in 
this  parish,  and  the  churchwardens  have  been  tenant- 
farmers  for  generations.  Of  course  great  changes 
have  occurred  within  the  last,  say,  fifty  years,  amongst 
these  tenant-farmers.  Many  names  have  altogether 
disappeared  from  the  parish  roll,  and  it  is  thought 
probable  by  some  of  the  old  farmers  here  that  church- 
wardens in  past  days  having  left  their  farms  and 
gone  to  other  parishes  took  the  parish  books  with 
them,  and  that  these  have  either  been  destroyed  or 
are  lying  hid  in  some  descendant's  lumber-room." 

In  a  Paper  "  On  Druidical  Remains  in  the  Parish 
of  Halifax,  Yorkshire,"  by  the  Rev.  John  Watson, 
M.A.,  F.S.A.,*  the  author  says  that "  in  the  township 
of  Barkisland  is  a  small  ring  of  stones,  now  called 
(1771)  by  the  name  of  the  wolf -fold.  It  is  but  a 
few  yards  in  diameter,  but  the  exact  measurement  of 
it  I  have  lost  or  mislaid. 

"  The  stones  of  which  it  consists  are  not  erect,  but 
lie  in  a  confused  heap  like  the  ruins  of  a  building. 
This  place  I  took  at  first,  from  its  name,  to  have  been 
either  a  decoy  for  the  taking  of  wolves,  or  a  place  to 
secure  them  in  for  the  purpose  of  hunting  ;  but 
observing  that  Mr.  Borlase  (p.  198)  has  attributed 

*  "Archa?ologia,"  vol.  ii.  p.  355. 


THE   WOLF.  15; 

some  such  little  cirques  to  the  Druids,  I  have  men- 
tioned it  here  for  the  further  examination  of  anti- 
quaries, who  are  desired  to  take  notice  that  if  ever 
there  was  a  wall  here  of  any  strength,  the  best  stones 
must  have  been  carried  away  ;  for  what  are  left  are 
extremely  rude,  and  totally  unfit  of  themselves  to 
compose  any  sort  of  building ;  also  that  these  few 
insignificant  pebbles,  as  they  now  appear,  must  be  of 
considerable  antiquity,  as  well  as  once  have  been  of 
considerable  account,  because  they  give  the  name  of 
Ringstone  Edge  to  a  large  tract  of  land  around  them." 

The  late  Wm.  Hamper,  F.S.A.,  in  some  learned 
observations  on  certain  ancient  pillars  of  memorial 
called  Hoar  Stones  ("Archseologia,"  xxv.),  gives  a  list 
of  such  as  were  known  to  him,  and,  in  particular, 
mentions  (p.  53)  the  wolf -stone,  a  single  merestone, 
one  immense  natural  block  on  Dr.  Whitaker's  estate, 
which,  in  all  probability,  was  erected  to  commemorate 
some  notable  slaughter  of  Wolves  in  days  gone  by. 

The  fur  of  the  Wolf  was  formerly  used  for  trimming 
robes,  and  was  employed  for  this  purpose  at  least  as 
late  as  the  time  of  Elizabeth.  In  a  will  dated  1573 
preserved  in  the  Registry  of  the  Prerogative  Court 
of  Canterbury  the  following  clause  occurs  : — 

"  Also  I  give  unto  my  son  Tyble  my  sherte  gown 
faced  with  Wolf  and  laid  with  Billement's  lace  ;  also  I 
give  unto  my  brother  Cowper  my  other  sherte  gown 
faced  with  foxe ;  also  I  give  unto  Thomas  Walker 
my  night  gown  faced  with  coney,  with  one  lace  also, 
and  my  ready  [ruddy]  colored  hose." 

Where  the  testator  procured  the  Wolf- skin  it  is  of 


i58  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

course  impossible  to  say,  but  it  is  noticeable  that  no 
foreign  furs  (such  as  sable,  ermine,  and  lynx)  are 
mentioned  in  his  Will ;  the  only  furs  disposed  of 
besides  Wolf  being  those  of  indigenous  animals— the 
fox  and  the  coney. 

HISTORICAL  EVIDENCE. — SCOTLAND. 

In  a  preceding  page  it  was  incidentally  remarked 
that  the  Wolf  survived  in  Scotland  to  a  much  later 
date  than  was  the  case  in  England.  The  reason  is 
pretty  obvious.  Long  after  the  animal  had  been  extir- 
pated in  England  the  condition  of  the  country  in 
North  Britain  remained  eminently  suited  to  its  nature. 
Vast  tracts  of  forest  and  moor,  rugged  and  well-nigh 
impenetrable  in  parts,  entire  districts  of  unreclaimed 
and  uncultivated  land,  the  absence  of  roads,  and  the 
consequent  difficulty  of  communication  between  scat- 
tered and  thinly  populated  hamlets,  long  contributed 
to  shelter  the  Wolf  not  only  from  final  extinction  but 
from  the  incessant  persecution  which  had  driven  it 
from  the  south. 

The  aspect  of  the  country  in  Scotland  at  the 
date  to  which  we  refer  may  be  imagined  from  a 
remark  of  John  Taylor,  the  Water  Poet,  who  in  1 6 1 8 
travelled  on  foot  from  London  to  Edinburgh.  When 
visiting  Braemar,  he  says,  "  I  was  the  space  of  twelve 
days  before  I  saw  either  house,  cornfield,  or  habita- 
tion of  any  creature,  but  deer,  wild  horses,  Wolves, 
and  such  like  creatures,  which  made  me  doubt  that  I 
should  never  have  seen  a  house  again." 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  the  Wolf 


THE    WOLF.  159 

at  any  time  lived  unmolested  in  Scotland.  As 
the  herdsman's  foe,  it  was  always  regarded  as  a  beast 
to  be  pursued  and  killed  whenever  and  wherever 
practicable,  and  from  the  earliest  times  the  chase 
of  the  Wolf  was  considered  by  kings  and  nobles 
to  be  one  of  the  most  exciting  and  enjoyable  of  field- 
sports. 

We  learn  from  Holinshed  that  Dorvadil,  the  fourth 
King  of  the  Scots,  u  set  all  his  pleasure  on  hunting 
and  keeping  of  houndes  and  greyhoundes,  ordayning* 
that  every  householder  should  find  him  two  houndes 
and  one  greyhounde.  If  a  hunter  chanced  in  following- 
the  game  to  lose  an  eye  or  a  limme,  so  that  he  were 
not  able  to  helpe  himselfe  after  that  time,  he  made 
a  statute  that  he  should  be  founde  of  the  common 
treasury.  He  that  killed  a  Wolf  should  have  an  oxe 
for  his  paines.  This  beast,  indeed,  the  Scottish  men 
even  from  the  beginning  used  to  pursue  in  al  they 
might  devise,  because  the  same  is  suche  an  enemie 
to  cattayle,  wherein  consisted  the  chiefest  portion  of 
all  their  wealth  and  substance."*" 

Of  a  later  king,  Ederus,  we  are  told  that  his 
"  chiefe  delighte  was  altogyther  in  hunting  and 
keeping  of  houndes  and  greyhoundes,  to  chase  and 
pursue  wild  beastes,  and  namely  the  Woolfe  the 
herdsman's  foe,  by  means  whereof  his  advancement 
was  muche  the  more  acceptable  amongst  the  nobles, 
who  in  those  dayes  were  who! lye  given  to  that  kynde 
of  pleasure  and  pastyme."t 

*  Holinshed's  "  Chronicles  of  Scotland,"  1577,  p.  13. 
f  Holinshed,  torn.  cit.  p.  27 


160  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

Ferquhard  II.,  who  died  A.D.  668,  is  said  to  have 
proved  so  bad  a  king  that  Colman,  Bishop  of  Liridis- 
farne,  declared  the  vengeance  of  God  would  overtake 
him.  "  And  sure  his  wordes  proved  true  ;  for  within 
a,  moneth  after,  as  the  same  Ferquhard  followed  in 
r.hase  of  a  Wolfe,  the  beast  being  enraged  by  pursuite 
i)f  the  houndes,  flew  back  uppon  the  king,  and 
snatching  at  him,  did  wounde  and  byte  him  righte 
sore  in  one  of  his  sides,  immediately  where- 
upon, whether  through  anguishe  of  his  hurt,  or 
by  some  other  occasion,  he  fell  into  a  most  filthie 
disease."* 

The  sport  enjoyed  in  Scotland  in  former  days 
must  have  been  incomparable.  Bellenden,  the  trans- 
lator of  Hector  Boece,  says,  that  in  the  forests  of 
Caledonia  there  were  "gret  plente  of  haris,  hartis, 
hindis,  dayis,  rais,  Wolffis,  wild  hors,  and  toadis," 
(foxes),  and  he  particularly  mentions  "the  Wolffis  "  as 
being  "rycht  noysum  to  the  tame  bestiall  in  all 
partis  of  Scotland." 

In  the  reign  of  Malcolm  IV.  (1153-1165)  Kobert 
de  Avenel  granted  to  the  monks  of  Melrose  the  right 
of  pasturage  in  his  lands  in  Eskdale,  reserving  to 
himself  the  privileges  of  the  feudal  baron,  to  pursue 
the  wild  boar,  the  deer,  and  the  stag.  One  of  his 
successors  questioned  several  of  the  claims  to  which 
the  grantees  considered  themselves  entitled,  and  it 
was  ultimately  decided  in  1235,  in  presence  of  King 
Alexander  II.,  that  they  had  no  right  to  hunt  over  the 
lands  in  question,  and  were  restricted  from  setting 

*  Holinslied,  p.  148. 


THE   WOLF.  161 

traps,  excepting  for  Wolves*  It  seems  that,  in  order 
to  protect  their  flocks,  the  monks  of  Melrose  were 
in  the  habit  of  setting  traps  for  Wolves  as  early  as  the 
reign  of  W illiam  the  Lion  (1165-1214)^  Wolfclyde, 
a  part  of  the  barony  of  Culter,  in  Lanarkshire,  passed 
by  grant  to  the  Abbey  of  Melrose  in  14314 

In  a  grant  of  Alexander  II.  (1214-1249)  to  the 
monks  of  Melrose,  in  Ettrick  Forest,  mention  is 
made  of  "Wulfhope,"  a  name  still  familiar  in  the 
south  of  Roxburghshire^ 

In  1283,  there  was  an  allowance  made  for  "  one 
hunter  of  Wolves"  at  Stirling.  || 

In  1427,  in  the  reign  of  James  I.  of  Scotland,  an 
Act  was  passed  for  the  destruction  of  wolves  in  that 
kingdom.  Further  Acts  with  the  like  object  were 
passed  in  1457,  in  1525,  and  in  1577.  The  Act  of 
1525,  however,  is  merely  a  modernized  version  of 
the  law  of  1427,  which  is  referred  to  in  the  statute 
of  1577  as  "the  auld  act  made  tharon." 

The  law  required  "  that  ilk  baron  within  his  barony 
in  gangand  time  of  the  year  sail  chase  and  seek  the 
quhelpes  of  Wolves  and  gar  slay  them.  And  the  baron 
sail  give  to  the  man  that  slays  the  Woolfe  in  his 
barony  and  brings  the  baron  the  head,  twa  shillings. 
And  when  the  baron  ordains  to  hunt  and  chase  the 
Woolfe,  the  tenants  sail  rise  with  the  baron.  And 
that  the  barons  hunt  in  their  baronies  and  chase  the 

*  Morton's  "  Monastic  Annals  of  Teviotdale,"  pp.  273,  274. 

f  Chalmers'  "Caledonia,"  ii.  p.  132.      Chart.  Mel.  91. 

J  Morton,  op.  cit.  p.  276. 

§  Chalmers'  "  Caledonia,"  ii.  p.  132. 

||  limes'  "  Scotland  in  the  Middle  Ages,"  p.  125. 


1 62  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

Woolfes  four  times  a  year,  and  als  oft  as  onie  Woolfe 
beis  seen  within  the  barony.  And  that  na  man  seek 
the  Woolfe  with  schott,  but  allanerly  in  the  time  of 
hunting  them."  The  duty  of  summoning  the  people 
for  a  Wolf-hunt  devolved  upon  the  "  schireffs"  or 
"bailyis,"  three  times  a  year,  between  St.  Mark's  Day 
(April  25th)  and  Lammas  (August  ist),  for,  as  the 
Act  states,  "that  is  the  tyme  of  their  quhelpes." 
The  penalty  for  disregarding  this  summons  was  "  ane 
wedder,"  "  quhatever  he  be  that  rysse  not."  On 
the  other  hand,  it  was  enacted  that  whoever  slew  a 
Wolf  "  sail  haif  of  ilk  householder  of  that  parochin 
that  the  Woolfe  is  slayne  within,  a  penny." 

The  Act  of  James  II.  's  time  (1457),  provided 
that  "they  that  slay  is  ane  Woolfe  sail  bring  the 
head  to  the  schireffe,  baillie,  or  baronne,  and  he  sail 
be  debtour  to  the  slayer  for  the  summe  foresaide. 
And  quhatsumever  hee  bee  that  slayis  ane  Woolfe, 
and  bringis  the  head  to  the  schireffe,  lord,  baillie,  or 
baronne,  he  sail  have  sex  penny es."* 

In  some  active  instances,  the  exertion  of  these 
statutes  might  have  cleared  local  districts,  and  a 
remarkable  example  of  success  was  given  by  a  woman 
— Lady  Margaret  Lyon,  Baroness  to  Hugh  third 
Lord  Lovat.  This  lady  having  been  brought  up  in 
the  low  country,  at  a  distance  from  the  Wolves,  was 
probably  the  more  affected  by  their  neighbourhood, 
and  caused  them  to  be  so  vigorously  pursued  in  the 

*  "Laws  of  the  Parliament  of  Scotland,"  folio,  1781,  pp.  18,  19. 
See  also  Glendook's  Scots  Acts,  7  James  I.  c.  104,  and  14  James  II. 
c.  88. 


THE    WOLF.  163 

Aird,  that  they  were  exterminated  out  of  their  prin- 
cipal hold  in  that  range.  According  to  the  Wardlaw 
MS.,  "she  was  a  stout  bold  woman,  a  great  huntress; 
she  would  have  travelled  in  our  hills  a-foot,  and 
perhaps  outwearied  good  footmen.  She  purged  Mount 
Caplach  of  the  Wolves."  Mount  Caplach  is  the 
highest  range  of  the  Aird  running  parallel  to  the 
Beauly  Frith,  behind  Moniach  and  Lentron.  Though 
the  place  of  the  lady's  seat  is  now  forgotten,  its 
existence  is  still  remembered,  and  said  to  have  been 
at  a  pass  where  she  sat  when  the  woods  were  driven 
for  the  Wolves,  not  only  to  see  them  killed,  but  to 
shoot  at  them  with  her  own  arrows.  The  period  of 
her  repression  of  the  Wolves  is  indicated  by  the  suc- 
cession of  her  husband  to  the  lordship  of  Lovat, 
which  was  in  1450,  and  it  is  therefore  probable  that 
the  "  purging "  of  Mount  Caplach  was  begun  soon 
after  that  date.* 

Such  partial  expulsions,  however,  had  little  effect 
upon  the  general  "  herd  "  of  Wolves,  which,  fostered 
by  the  great  Highland  forests,  increased  at  intervals 
to  an  alarming  extent.  During  the  reign  of  James 
IV.  (1488-1513),  rewards  continued  to  be  paid  for 
the  slaughter  of  Wolves  in  Scotland,  and  we  learn 
the  value  of  a  Wolf's  head  in  those  days  from  the 
accounts  of  the  Lord  High  Treasurer.!  For  in- 

*  MS.  History  of  the  Frasers,  in  the  library  of  Lord  Lovat  (p.  44). 
Also  the  curious  account  of  the  North  Highlands  called  the  Wardlaw 
MS.  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Thompson,  Inverness  (p.  67). 

f  Extracts  from  these  accounts  will  be  found  in  Pitcairn's  "  Criminal 
Trials  in  Scotland,"  vol.  i.  p.  1 16. 

M 


1 64  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

stance,   under  date  "October  24th,    U91/'  we  find 
this  entry : — 

'  Item,  til  a  fallow  brochtye  king  ij  wolfis  in  Lythgow  .  .  .  Vs." 

In  the  time  of  James  V.  their  numbers  and  ravages 
were  formidable.  At  that  period  great  part  of  Ross, 
Inverness,  almost  the  whole  of  Crornarty,  and  krge 
tracts  of  Perth  and  Argyleshire,  were  covered  with 
forests  of  pine,  birch,  and  oak,  the  remains  of  which 
continued  to  our  time  in  Braemar,  Invercauld,  Rothie- 
murchus,  Arisaig,  the  banks  of  Loch  Ness,  Glen 
Strath-Farar,  and  Glen  Game ;  and  it  is  known 
from  history  and  tradition  that  the  braes  of  Moray, 
Nairn,  and  Glen  Urcha,  the  glens  of  Locliaber,  and 
Loch  Erroch,  the  moors  of  Rannach,  and  the  hills  of 
Ardgour  were  covered  in  the  same  manner.*  All 
these  clouds  of  forests  were  more  or  less  frequented 
by  Wolves.  Roethius  mentions  their  numbers  and 
devastation  in  his  time;t  and  in  various  districts  where 
they  last  remained,  the  traditions  of  their  haunts 
are  still  familiarly  remembered.  Loch  Sloigh  and 
Strath  Earn  are  still  celebrated  for  their  resort,  and 
in  1848  there  were  living  in  Lochaber  old  people 
who  related  from  their  predecessors,  that,  when  all 
the  country  from  the  Lochie  to  Loch  Erroch  was 
covered  by  a  continuous  pine  forest,  the  eastern 
tracts  upon  the  Blackwater  and  the  wild  wilderness 
stretching  towards  Rannach  were  so  dense  and 


*  MacFarlane's  Geographical  Collections.     MS.  Bibl.  Factilt.  Jurid. 
ii.  192.     Quoted  in  Stuart's  "  Lays  of  the  Deer  Forest." 
t  "  Scot.  Hist."  fol.  7. 


THE   WOLF.  165 

infested  by  the  rabid  droves,  that  they  were  almost 
impassable.* 

In  1528  the  Earl  of  A  thole  entertained  the  king, 
James  V.,  with  a  great  hunt  which  lasted  three 
days.  "It  is  said,  at  this  tyme,  in  Atholl  and 
Stratherdaill  boundis,  thair  was  slaine  threttie  scoir 
of  hart  and  hynd,  with  other  small  beasties,  sich  as 
roe  and  roebuck,  Woulff,  fox,  and  wild  cattis."t 

A  story  is  told  of  one  John  Eldar,  a  clergyman  of 
Caithness,  who  on  the  death  of  James  V.  journeyed 
to  England  to  present  to  Henry  VIII.  a  project  for  the 
union  of  the  two  kingdoms.  Being  asked  to  ex- 
plain the  meaning  of  the  name  "  redshanks,"  at  that 
time  given  to  the  Highlanders,  he  said,  "  They  'call 
us  in  Scotland,  '  redshanks/  please  it  your  Majesty 
to  understand,  that  we  of  all  people  can  tolerate, 
suffer,  and  away  best  with  cold :  for  both  summer 
and  winter  (except  when  the  frost  is  most  vehement) 
going  always  bare-legged  and  bare-footed,  our  de- 
light and  pleasure  is  in  hunting  of  red  deer,  Wolves, 
foxes,  and  graies  [badgers]  whereof  we  abound  and 
have  great  plenty.  Therefore,  in  so  much  as  we  use 
and  delight  so  to  go  always,  the  tender,  delicate 
gentlemen  of  Scotland  call  us  'redshanks. "'J 

Harrison,  who  wrote  in  Elizabeth's  time,  sa^s  that 
though  the  English  "  may  safelie  boast  of  their 
securitie  in  respect  to  wild  animals,  yet  cannot  the 
Scots  do  the  like  in  everie  point  within  their  king- 

*  Stuart's  "  Lays  of  the  Deer  Forest,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  231,  232. 
f  Robert  Lindsay,  "  Chronicles  of  Scotland,"  ii.  p.  346. 
J  Pinkerton's  "  History  of  Scotland,"  ii.  p.  396. 

M   2 


1 66  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

dome,  sith  they  have  greevous  Woolfes  and  cruell 
foxes,  beside  some  other  of  like  disposition  con- 
tinuallie  conversant  among  them,  to  the  general 
hindrance  of  their  husbandmen  and  no  small  damage 
unto  the  inhabiters  of  those  quarters."* 

William  Barclay,  who  was  a  native  of  Aberdeen- 
shire,  and  spent  the  early  part  of  his  life  at  the  Court 
of  Queen  Mary,  accompanied  her  Majesty  on  an 
excursion  to  the  Highlands,  and  has  left  a  curious 
accountf  of  a  royal  hunt  at  which  he  was  present, 
and  which  was  organized  for  the  Queen  by  John, 
fourth  Earl  of  Athole,  in  1 563.  Two  thousand  High- 
landers were  employed  to  drive  all  the  deer  from 
the  woods  and  hills  of  Athole,  Badenach,  Mar, 
Moray,  and  the  surrounding  country.  After  men- 
tioning incidentally  that  the  Queen  ordered  one  of 
the  fiercest  dogs  to  be  slipped  at  a  Wolf — "  Laxatus 
enirn  reginte  jussu,  atque  immissus  in  lupum,  insignis 
admodum  ac  ferox  cants  " — Barclay  concludes  his 
account  of  the  "drive"  with  the  statement  that 
there  were  killed  that  very  day  360  deer,  5  Wolves, 
and  some  roes. 

According  to  Holinshed,  Wolves  were  very  de- 
structive to  the  flocks  in  Scotland  during  the  reign 
of  James  VI.  in  1577.  At  this  time  they  were  so 
numerous  throughout  the  greater  part  of  the  High- 
lands, that  in  the  winter  it  was  necessary  to  provide 
houses,  or  "  spittals  "  as  they  were  termed,  to  afford 

*  Harrison's  "Description  of   England,"  prefixed  to  Holinshed's 
"  Chronicles,"  i.  p.  378. 
t  "De  Eegno  et  regali  Potestate,"  Ac.,  4to,  1600,  p.  279. 


THE   WOLF.  167 

lodgings  to  travellers  who  might  be  overtaken  by 
night  where  there  was  no  place  of  shelter.  Hence 
the  origin  of  the  Spittal  of  Glen  Shae,  and  similar 
appellations  in  other  places. 

Camden,  whose  "Britannia"  was  published  in 
1586,  asserts  that  Wolves  at  that  date  were  common 
in  many  parts  of  Scotland,  and  particularly  refers  to 
Strathnavern. 

"  The  county/'  he  says,  "  hath  little  cause  to  brag 
of  its  fertility.  By  reason  of  the  sharpness  of  the 
air  it  is  very  thinly  inhabited,  and  thereupon  ex- 
tremely infested  with  the  fiercest  of  Wolves,  which, 
to  the  great  damage  of  the  county,  not  only  furi- 
ously set  upon  cattle,  but  even  upon  the  owners 
themselves,  to  the  manifest  danger  of  their  lives. 
In  so  much  that  not  only  in  this,  but  in  many  other 
parts  of  Scotland,  the  sheriffs  and  respective  inha- 
bitants are  bound  by  Act  of  Parliament,  in  their 
several  sheriflfdoms,  to  go  a  hunting  thrice  every  year 
to  destroy  the  Wolves  and  their  whelps."* 

Bishop  Lesley,  writing  towards  the  close  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  complains  much  of  the  prevalence 
of  Wolves  at  that  period,  and  of  their  ferocity,  f 

"  About  this  tune  there  was  nothing  but  the  petty 
flock  of  sheep,  or  herd  of  a  few  milk -cows,  grazed 
round  the  farm-house,  and  folded  nightly  for  fear  of 
the  Wolf,  or  more  cunning  depredators. "| 

*  Camden,  "Britannia,"  vol.  ii.  p.  1279.  Bishop  Gibson,  in 
his  edition,  has  a  marginal  note  to  this  passage — "  No  Wolves  now 
in  Scotland  (1772). 

f  "  De  Origine,  Moribus  et  Eebus  Scotorum." 

\  Irvine's  "  Scotch  Legal  Antiquities,"  p.  264. 


1 68  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  and  beginning  of 
the  seventeenth  centuries  large  tracts  of  forests  in  the 
Highlands  were  purposely  cut  down  or  burned,  as 
the  only  means  of  expelling  the  Wolves  which  there 
abounded. 

"  These  hills  and  glens  and  wooded  wilds  can  tell 
How  many  wolves  and  boars  and  deer  then  fell." 

CAMPBELL'S  Grampians  Desolate,  p.  102. 

"  On  the  south  side  of  Beann  Nevis,  a  large  pine 
forest,  which  extended  from  the  western  braes  of 
Lochaber  to  the  Black  Water  and  the  mosses  of 
Rannach,  was  burned  to  expel  the  Wolves.  In  the 
neighbourhood  of  Loch  Sloi,  a  tract  of  woods  nearly 
twenty  miles  in  extent  was  consumed  for  the  same 
purpose."* 

John  Taylor,  the  Water  Poet,  who  made  his 
"Pennyles  Pilgrimage"  into  Scotland  in  1618,  saw 
Wolves  in  Braemar.  He  writes  :  "  My  good  Lord  of 
Mar  having  put  me  into  shape,  I  rode  with  him  from 
his  house,  where  I  saw  the  ruins  of  an  old  castle, 
called  the  castle  of  Kindroghit.  It  was  built  by 
King  Malcolm  Canmore  (for  a  hunting-house),  who 
reigned  in  Scotland  when  Edward  the  Confessor, 
Harold,  and  N.orman  William  reigned  in  England. 
I  speak  of  it  because  it  was  the  last  house  that  I  saw 
in  those  parts ;  for  I  was  the  space  of  twelve  days 
after  before  I  saw  either  house,  cornfield,  or  habita- 
tion of  any  creature,  but  deer,  wild  horses,  Wolves, 

*  Notes  to  Sobieski  Stuart's  "Last  Deer  of  Beann  Doran."  See  his 
"Poems"  published  in  1822  tinder  the  assumed  name  of  James  Hay 
Allan. 


THE   WOLF.  169 

und  such-like  creatures,  which  made  me  doubt  that 
I  should  never  have  seen  a  house  again."* 

Years  later,  as  we  learn  from  Sir  Robert  Gordon, 
the  Wolf  was  still  included  amongst  the  wild  animals 
of  Sutherlandshire.  He  says  the  forests  and 
"  schases  "  in  that  county  were  "  verie  profitable  for 
feiding  of  bestiall,  and  delectable  for  hunting,  being 
full  of  reid  deer  and  roes,  Woulffs,  foxes,  wyld  catts, 
brocks,  skuyrells.  whittrets,  weasels,  otters,  martrixes, 
hares,  and  fumarts."t 

In  1621  the  price  paid  in  Sutherlandshire  for  the 
killing  of  one  Wolf  according  to  statute  was 
61.  136-.  4d. 

Wolf-skins  are  mentioned  in  1661  in  a  Customs 
Roll  of  Charles  II., J  whence  it  appears  that  two 
ounces  of  silver  were  paid  "  for  ilk  two  daker."§ 

Twenty  years  later,  if  we  are  to  credit  the  state- 
ment of  Sir  Robert  ISibbald,  whose  "  Scotia  Illus- 
trata "  was  published  in  1684,  the  animal  had 
become  extinct.  His  words  are  :  Lupi  olini  frequentes 
want,  quidarn  etiam  de  Caledoniis  ursis  loquuntur. 

*  "  The  Pennyles  Pilgrimage,  or  the  Moneylesse  Perambulation  of 
John  Taylor,  alias  the  King's  Majesties  Water  Poet.  How  he  travailed 
on  foot  from  London  to  Edenborough  in  Scotland.  With  his  descrip- 
tion of  his  entertainment  in  all  places  of  his  journey  and  a  true  report 
of  the  unmatchable  hunting  in  the  Brea  of  Marre  and  Badenoch  in 
Scotland."  4to,  London,  1681. 

t  "  Genealogical  History  of  the  Earldom  of  Sutherland,  from  its 
origin  to  the  year  1630." 

J  See  Glendook's  "  Scots  Acts,"  Charles  IT.,  p.  36. 

§  The  word  "  daker"  or  "  dicker"  (Greek  Secca,  ten)  is  still  in  use  in 
the  leather  trade,  and  means  a  roll  of  ten  skins.  It  was  anciently 
spelt  "  dyker"  or  "  dykker,"  and  the  market-toll  was  a  penny  each 
"dyker."  See  the  Durham  Household  Book,  1530-1534,  pp.  107,205, 
where  this  word  freqtiently  occurs. 


1 7  o  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

Scd  horum  genus  deletum  et  ex  insuld  exterminatum 

&t;>* 

Pennant  states  that  the  Wolf  became  extinct  in 
Scotland  in  1680,  when  the  last  of  the  race  was 
slain  by  Sir  Ewen  Cameron  of  Lochiel.t  He  adds 
that  he  had  travelled  "  into  almost  every  corner  of 
that  country,  but  could  not  learn  that  there  remained 
even  the  memory  of  these  animals  among  the  oldest 
people."! 

From  more  recent  investigation,  however,  it  is 
clear  that  Sir  Robert  Sibbald  and  Pennant  were 
both  mistaken,  for  not  only  were  Wolves  slain 
in  Scotland  subsequently  to  1680,  but  numerous 
traditions  concerning  these  animals  survived  in 
the  country  to  at  least  as  recent  a  date  as  1848. 

Traditions. — In  a  Gaelic  forest  lay  "  of  a  remote 
period,  the  date  and  author  of  which  are  uncertain," 
the  Wolf  is  thus  referred  to  as  inhabiting  the  ancient 
pine  woods  of  Scotland  : — 

"  CM  mi  Sgbrr-eild'  air  bruaich  a'  ghlinn' 
An  goir  a'  chuthag  gu-binn  an  dos. 
'Us  gorm  mheall-aild'  nam  mile  guibhas 
Nan  lub,  nan  earba,  's  nan  Ion." 

"  I  see  the  ridge  of  hinds,  the  steep  of  the  sloping  glen 
The  wood  of  cuckoos  at  its  foot, 
The  blue  height  of  a  thousand  pines, 
Of  wolves,  and  roes,  and  elks.§ 

*  "  Scotia  Illustrata,  sive  Prodromus  Historise  Naturalis,"  folior 
1684,  pars  ii.  p.  9. 

f  Surtees  gives  the  date  of  the  death  of  the  last  Wolf  in  Scotland  as 
1682.  "History  and  Antiquities  of  the  County  of  Durham,"vol.  ii.  p.  172. 

J  "British  Zoology,"  vol.  i.  p.  88;  and  "Tour  in  Scotland," 
vol.  i.  p.  206. 

§  From  'The  Aged  Bard's  Wish,'  given  in  Stuart's  "  Lays  of  the- 
Deer  Forest,"  ii.  p.  9. 


THE   WOLF.  171 

Other  Gaelic  names  for  the  Wolf  are  madadh 
alluidh,  commonly  used ;  faol  chu,  and  alia  mhadadh, 
all  of  which  are  composed  of  an  epithet  and  a  word 
which  now  means  dog.*  It  is  also  called  faol  and 
mac  tire,  "  earth's  son."t 

In  Scrope's  "  Days  of  Deer- Stalking"  (p.  109)  is 
related  an  adventure  with  a  Wolf  that  happened  to 
Macpherson  of  Braekaely,  when  he  had  charge  of  the 
forest  of  Benalder,  and  was  furnished  to  the  author 
by  Cluny  Macpherson,  chief  of  Clanchattan. 

"  He  sallied  forth  one  morning,  as  he  was  wont,  in 
quest  of  venison,  accompanied  by  his  servant.  In 
the  course  of  their  travel,  they  found  a  Wolf  den — a 
Wolf  being  at  that  time  by  no  means  a  rarity  in  the 
forest.  Macpherson  asked  his  servant  whether  he 
would  prefer  going  into  the  den  to  destroy  the  cubs, 
or  remaining  outside  to  guard  against  the  approach 
of  the  old  ones.  The  servant,  preferring  what 
appeared  to  be  an  uncertain  to  a  certain  danger, 
said  he  would  remain  without ;  but  here  Sandy  had 
miscalculated,  for,  to  his  great  dismay,  the  dam  came 
raging  to  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  which  no  sooner  did 
he  see  than  he  took  to  his  heels  incontinently, 
without  even  warning  his  master  of  the  danger. 
Macpherson,  however,  being  an  active,  resolute  man, 
and  expert  at  his  weapons,  succeeded  in  killing  the 
old  Wolf  as  well  as  the  cubs." 

This    Macpherson    of   Braekaely    was    commonly 

*  Pinker-ton's  "  Enquiry  into  the  Early  History  of  Scotland,"  vol.  ii. 
P-  85- 
t  Campbell's  "  Tales  of  the  West  Highlands,"  vol.  i.  p.  274. 


1 7  2  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

called  Callum  Beg,  or  little  Malcolm  ;  and  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that  he  was  one  of  those  who 
fought  in  the  famous  battle  of  the  Inch  of  Perth  in 
the  reign  of  Robert  III.  (1390-1406.) 

In  the  districts  where  Wolves  last  abounded,  says 
Stuart  in  the  "  Lays  of  the  Deer  Forest,"  many 
traditions  of  their  history  and  haunts  have  descended 
to  our  time.  The  greatest  number  preserved  in  one 
circle  were  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Strath  Earn. 

At  Inver-Rua,  on  the  Spean,  and  consequently 
within  the  lands  of  Keppach,  there  lived  a  Campbell 
of  the  Slioched  Chailein  Mhic-Dhonnacha,  or  Glen 
Urcha  race.  Although  thus  a  tenant  of  one  of  the 
principal  branches  of  the  Clan  Donald,  and  removed 
to  the  distance  of  forty  miles  from  his  cean  tigfie,  he 
continued  to  pay  his  "  calps  "  to  his  blood  chief,  the 
Knight  of  Loch  Awe.  This  tax  was  a  heifer,  which 
was  paid  annually,  and  it  happened  one  year  that  a 
short  time  before  it  fell  due,  the  beast  was  killed  on 
her  pasture  and  half  eaten  by  a  Wolf.  Campbell 
left  what  remained  to  tempt  his  return,  and  on  the 
following  night,  watching  the  carcase,  he  shot  the 
Wolf  from  behind  a  stone.  Not  being  able,  however, 
to  afford  another  "  calp,"  he  flayed  the  dead  heifer, 
and  sent  the  torn  hide  to  MacChailein  Mhic- 
Donnacha,  with  a  message  that  it  was  all  which  he 
had  to  show  for  his  "  calp ;"  upon  which  the  chief 
observed,  that  he  had  sent  sufficient  parchment  to 
write  his  discharge. 

This  is  said  to  have  happened  in  the  time  of  Sir 
Duncan  Campbell,  called  "  Donacha  dub/i  a'  Cur- 


THE   WOLF.  173 

radid"  "Black  Duncan  of  the  Hood,"  so  called  from 
having  been  the  last  person  of  his  rank  who  bore  the 
old  Highland  hood  in  Argyllshire,  and  who  lived  in 
the  reign  of  James  VI.  (1567-1603). 

Several  traditions  relative  to  Wolves  are  evidences 
of  the  accuracy  with  which  oral  relations  have  been 
transmitted  through  many  generations,  which  is 
exemplified  by  the  familiarity  and  fidelity  with  which 
they  retain  allusions  to  objects  and  customs  disused 
for  two  hundred  years. 

An  example  of  this  occurs  in  an  account  of  the 
slaughter  of  a  remarkable  Wolf  killed  by  one  of  the 
lairds  of  Chisholm  in  Gleann  Chon-fhiadh,  or  the 
Wolves'  Glen,  a  noted  retreat  of  these  animals  in 
the  sixteenth  century. 

The  animal  in  question  had  made  her  den  in  a 
"earn,"  or  pile  of  loose  rocks,  whence  she  made 
excursions  in  every  direction  until  she  became  the 
terror  of  the  country.  At  length  the  season  of  her 
cubs  increasing  her  ferocity,  and  having  killed  some 
of  the  neighbouring  people,  she  attracted  the  enter- 
prise of  the  Laird  of  Chisholm  and  his  brother,  then 
two  gallant  young  hunters,  and  they  resolved  to 
attempt  her  destruction.  For  this  they  set  off 
alone  from  Strath  Glass,  and  having  tracked  her 
to  her  den,  discovered  by  her  traces  that  she  was 
abroad  ;  but  detecting  the  little  pattering  feet  of  the 
cubs  in  the  sand  about  the  mouth  of  the  den,  the 
elder  crept  into  the  chasm  with  his  drawn  dirk,  and 
began  the  work  of  vengeance  on  the  litter.  While 
he  was  thus  occupied,  the  Wolf  returned,  and  infu- 


174  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

riated  by  the  expiring  yelps  of  her  cubs,  rushed  at 
the  entrance,  regardless  of  the  younger  Chisholm, 
•who  made  a  stroke  at  her  with  his  spear,  but  such 
was  her  velocity,  that  he  missed  her  as  she  darted 
past,  and  broke  the  point  of  his  weapon.  His 
brother,  however,  met  the  animal  as  she  entered,  and 
being  armed  with  the  left-handed  Idmhainn  chruaidh, 
or  steel  gauntlet,  much  used  by  the  Highlanders  and 
Irish,  as  the  Wolf  rushed  open-mouthed  upon  him, 
he  thrust  the  iron  fist  into  her  jaws,  and  stabbed 
her  in  the  breast  with  his  dirk,  while  his  brother, 
striking  at  her  flank  with  the  broken  spear,  after 
a  desperate  struggle  she  was  drawn  out  dead. 

The  spear  and  the  left-handed  gauntlet  referred  to 
in  this  tradition  are  arms  mentioned,  by  Spencer, 
Leslie,  and  other  authorities,  as  characteristic  of  the 
Highlanders  and  Irish  in  the  days  of  Queen  Mary.* 

It  is  true  they  retained  the  use  of  such  weapons 
as  late  as  their  muster  called  the  "  Highland  Host  " 
in  i6/8.t  But  no  such  remains  appeared  at  Cillie- 
chranchie,  and  it  is  therefore  probable  that  the  story 
has  descended  from  the  time  of  Charles  II. 

Another  story  is  on  record  of  a  Wolf  killed  by  a 
woman  of  Cre-lebhan,  near  Strui,  on  the  north  side  of 
Strath  Glass.  She  had  gone  to  Strui  a  little  before 
Christmas  to  borrow  a  girdle  (a  thick  circular  plate 
of  iron,  with  an  iron  loop  handle  at  one  side  for  lift- 
ing, and  used  for  baking  bread).  Having  procured  it, 

*  See  Spencer's  "  Views  of  Ireland;"  Derrick's  "  Image  of  Ireland  ;" 
Leslie,  "  De  Origine,  Moribus  et  Rebus  Scotorum  ;"  and  a  print  in  the 
Douce  Collection,  Bodl.  Lib.  G-.  vi.  47. 

f  Wodrow  MS.  Bibl.  Facult.  Jurid.,  xcix.  No.  29. 


THE  WOLF.  175 

and  being  on  her  way  home,  she  sat  down  upon  an  old 
earn  to  rest  and  gossip  With  a  neighbour,  when  sud- 
denly a  scraping  of  stones  and  rustling  of  dead  leaves 
were  heard,  and  the  head  of  a  Wolf  protruded  from  a 
crevice  at  her  side.  Instead  of  fleeing  in  alarm,  how- 
ever, "  she  dealt  him  such  a  blow  on  the  skull  with 
the  full  swing  of  her  iron  discus,  that  it  brained  him 
on  the  stone  which  served  for  his  emerging  head." 

This  tradition  was  probably  one  of  the  latest  in  the 
district,  and  seems  to  have  belonged  to  a  period 
when  the  Wolves  were  near  their  end.  Their  last 
great  outbreak  in  the  time  of  Queen  Mary  led  to 
more  vigorous  measures,  which  in  the  time  of 
Charles  II.  reduced  their  ranks  to  so  small  a  number 
that  in  some  districts  their  extinction  is  believed  to 
have  followed  soon  after  that  period.  Thus,  in 
Lochaber,  the  last  in  that  part  of  the  country  is  said 
to  have  been  killed  by  Sir  Ewen  Cameron  in  1680, 
which  Pennant  misunderstood  to  have  been  the  last 
of  the  species  in  Scotland.* 

Some  traditionary  notices  there  are  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  last  Wolves  seen  in  Sutherlandshire, 
consisting  of  four  old  ones  and  some  whelps  which 
were  killed  about  the  same  time  at  three  different 
places, — at  Auchumore  in  Assynt,  in  Halladale,  and 
in  Glen  Loth — widely  distant  from  each  other,  and 
as  late  as  between  the  years  1690  and  i/oo. 

The  death  of  the  last  Wolf  and  her  cubs  on  the 

*  In  the  Sale  Catalogue  of  the  "  London  Mnsenm"  which  was 
disposed  of  by  auction  in  April,  1818,  there  is  the  following  entry: 
«'  Lot  832.  Wolf— a  noble  animal  in  a  large  glass  case.  The  last  Wolf 
killed  in  Scotland  by  Sir  E.  Cameron." 


1 7 6  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

eastern  coast  of  Sutherlandshire,  says  Scrope,  was 
attended  with  remarkable  circumstances. 

"A  man  named  Poison,  of  Wester  Helmsdale, 
accompanied  by  two  lads,  one  of  them  his  son  and 
the  other  an  active  herdboy,  tracked  a  Wolf  to  a 
rocky  mountain  gully  which  forms  the  channel  of  the 
Burn  of  Sledale  in  Glen  Loth.  Here  he  discovered  a 
narrow  fissure  in  the  midst  of  large  fragments  of  rock, 
which  led  apparently  to  a  larger  opening  or  cavern 
below,  which  the  Wolf  might  use  as  his  den.  The 
two  lads  contrived  to  squeeze  themselves  throng] i 
the  fissure  to  examine  the  interior,  whilst  Poison 
kept  guard  on  the  outside. 

"  The  boys  descended  through  the  narrow  passage 
into  a  small  cavern,  which  was  evidently  a  Wolfs  den, 
for  the  ground  was  covered  with  bones  and  horns  of 
animals,  feathers,  and  eggshells,  and  the  dark  space 
was  somewhat  enlivened  by  five  or  six  active  Wolf 
cubs.  Poison  desired  them  to  destroy  these ;  and  soon, 
after  he  heard  their  feeble  howling.  Almost  at  the 
same  time,  to  his  great  horror,  he  saw  approaching 
him  a  full-grown  Wolf,  evidently  the  dam,  raging- 
furiously  at  the  cries  of  her  young.  As  she  attempted 
to  leap  down,  at  one  bound  Poison  instinctively  threw 
himself  forward  and  succeeded  in  catching  a.  firm  hold 
of  the  animal's  long  and  bushy  tail,  just  as  the  fore- 
part of  her  body  was  within  the  narrow  entrance  of 
the  cavern.  He  had  unluckily  placed  his  gun  against 
a  rock  when  aiding  the  boys  in  their  descent,  and 
could  not  now  reach  it.  Without  apprising  the  lads 
below  of  their  imminent  peril,  the  stout  hunter  kept 


THE   WOLF.  in 

a  firm  grip  of  the  Wolf's  tail,  whicli  lie  wound  round 
bis  left  arm,  and  although  the  maddened  brute 
scrambled  and  twisted  and  strove  with  all  her  might 
to  force  herself  down  to  the  rescue  of  her  cubs,  Poison 
was  just  able  with  the  exertion  of  all  his  strength  to 
keep  her  from  going  forward.  In  the  midst  of  this 
singular  struggle,  which  passed  in  silence,  his  son 
within  the  cave,  finding  the  light  excluded  from  above, 
asked  in  Gaelic,  '  Father,  what  is  keeping  the  light 
from  us  ? '  '  If  the  root  of  the  tail  breaks,'  replied 
he,  '  you  will  soon  know  that. '  Before  long,  how- 
ever, the  man  contrived  to  get  hold  of  his  hunting- 
knife,  and  stabbed  the  Wolf  in  the  most  vital  parts  he 
could  reach.  The  enraged  animal  now  attempted  to 
turn  and  face  her  foe,  but  the  hole  was  too  narrow 
to  allow  of  this  ;  and  when  Poison  saw  his  danger  he 
squeezed  her  forward,  keeping  her  jammed  in  whilst 
he  repeated  his  stabs  as  rapidly  as  he  could,  until 
the  animal  being  mortally  wounded,  was  easily 
dragged  back  and  finished. 

"  These  were  the  last  Wolves  killed  in  Sutherland, 
and  the  den  was  between  Craig- Rhadich  and  Craig- 
Voakie,  by  the  narrow  Glen  of  Loth,  a  place  replete 
with  objects  connected  with  traditionary  legends."* 

This  story  was  related  by  the  Duke  of  Sutherland's 
head  forester  in  1 848  to  Mr.  J.  F.  Campbell,  who  has 
narrated  it  in  his  "Popular  Tales  of  the  West 
Highlands,"  vol.  i.  p.  273. 

"  Every  district,"  says  Stuart  in  his  "  Lays  of  the 
Deer  Forest,"  "has  its  'last '  Wolf,"  and  there  were 

*  Scrope's  "  Days  of  Deer  Stalking,"  p.  374. 


1 7  8  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

probably  several  which  were  later  than  that  killed 
by  Sir  Ewen  Cameron.*  The  "  last"  of  Strath  Glass 
was  killed  at  Gusachan  according  to  tradition  "  at  no 
very  distant  period."  The  "last"  in  Glen  "Orchard  on 
the  east  side  of  the  valley  between  Loch  Leiter  and 
Sheugly,  at  a  place  called  ever  since  Sloclid  a 
mhadaidh — i.e.,  the  Wolfs  den  ;  and  the  last  of  the 
Findhorn  and  also  (as  there  seems  every  reason 
to  believe)  the  last  of  the  species  in  Scotland,  at  a 
place  between  Fi-Giuthas  and  Pall-a-chrocain,  and 
according  to  popular  chronology  no  longer  ago  than 
the  year  1 743.  The  district  in  which  he  was  killed 
was  well  calculated  to  have  given  harbour  to  the  last 
of  a  savage  race.  All  the  country  round  his  haunt 
was  an  extent  of  wild  and  desolate  moorland  hills, 
beyond  which,  in  the  west,  there  was  retreat  to  the 
vast  wilderness  of  the  Monaidh-laith,  an  immense 
tract  of  desert  mountains  utterly  uninhabited,  and 
unfrequented  except  by  summer  herds  and  herdsmen, 
but,  when  the  cattle  had  retired,  abundantly  re- 
plenished with  deer  and  other  game,  to  give  ample 
provision  to  the  "  wild  dogs."  The  last  of  their  race 
was  killed  by  MacQueen  of  Pall-a-chrocain,  who  died 
in  the  year  1797,  and  was  the  most  celebrated 
"carnach"  of  the  Findhorn  for  an  unknown  period. 
Of  gigantic  stature,  six  feet  seven  inches  in  height, 
he  was  equally  remarkable  for  his  strength,  courage, 
and  celebrity  as  a  deer-stalker,  and  had  the  best 


*  A  portrait  of  this  devoted  partizan  of  the  house  of  Stuart  was 
exhibited  at  the  meeting  of  the  British  Association  at  Aberdeen  in 
1859, 


THE   WOLF.  179 

"  long  dogs  "  or  deer-hounds  in  the  country.  One 
winter's  day,  about  the  year  before  mentioned,  he 
received  a  message  from  the  Laird  of  Macintosh 
that  a  large  "  black  beast,"  supposed  to  be  a  Wolf, 
had  appeared  in  the  glens,  and  the  day  before  killed 
two  children,  who  with  their  mother  were  crossing 
the  hills  from  Calder,  in  consequence  of  which  a 
"  Tainchel "  or  "  gathering  "  to  drive  the  country  was 
called  to  meet  at  a  tryst  above  Fi-Giuthas,  where 
MacQueen  was  invited  to  attend  with  his  dogs.  He 
informed  himself  of  the  place  where  the  children  had 
been  killed,  the  last  tracks  of  the  Wolf,  and  the  con- 
jectures of  his  haunt,  and  promised  his  assistance. 

In  the  morning  the  "  Tainchol "  had  long  assem- 
bled, and  Macintosh  waited  with  impatience,  but 
MacQueen  did  not  arrive.  His  dogs  and  himself  were, 
however,  auxiliaries  too  important  to  be  left  behind, 
and  they  continued  to  wait  until  the  best  of  a 
hunter's  morning  was  gone,  when  at  last  he  appeared, 
and  Macintosh  received  him  with  an  irritable 
expression  of  disappointment. 

"CM  ea  chalhag?"  ("What  was  the  hurry?") 
said  he  of  Pall-a-chrocain. 

Macintosh  gave  an  indignant  retort,  and  all  pre- 
sent made  some  impatient  reply.  . 

MacQueen  lifted  his  plaid  and  drew  the  black, 
bloody  head  of  the  Wolf  from  under  his  arm  ! 

"  Sin  e  dhuibh  /"  ("  There  it  is  for  you  !")  said  he, 
and  tossed  it  on  the  grass  in  the  midst  of  the  surprised 
circle. 

Macintosh   expressed   great  joy   and  admiration, 


i  So  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

and  gave  him  the  land  called  Sean-achan  for  meal  to 
his  dogs." 

Sir  Thomas  Dick  Lauder,  in  his  "  Account  of  the 
Moray  Floods  of  August,  1829,"  tells  the  story  of 
the  Wolf  killed  in  that  district  by  MacQueen.  of 
Pall-a-chrocain,  but  lays  the  scene  of  the  exploit  in 
the  parish  of  Moy,  in  the  county  of  Inverness,  which, 
although  within  the  bounds  of  the  ancient  province 
of  Moray,  is  far  beyond  the  present  limits  of  the 
forest  of  Tarnaway. 

Sir  Thomas  gives  the  very  words  which  MacQueen 
is  said  to  have  used  in  describing  to  the  chief  of 
Macintosh  how  he  killed  the  wolf:  "As  I  came 
through  the  sloclik  (i.e.,  ravine)  by  east  the  hill 
there,"  said  he,  as  if  talking  of  some  everyday  occur- 
rence, "  I  foregathered  wi'  the  beast.  My  long  dog- 
there  turned  him.  I  buckled  wi'  him,  and  dirkit 
him,  and  syne  whuttled  his  craig  (i.e.,  cut  his 
throat),  and  brought  awa'  his  countenance  for  fear  he 
might  come  alive  again,  for  they  are  very  precarious 
creatures/'  In  reward  for  his  bravery,  his  chief 
is  said  to  have  bestowed  on  him  a  gift  of  the  lands  of 
Sean-achan  "to  yield  meal  for  his  good  greyhounds  in 
all  time  coming."  Sir  Thomas  Lauder  has  preserved 
another  tradition  of  the  extirpation  of  the  Wolf  in 
Morayshire,  when  two  old  Wolves  and  their  cubs  were 
killed  by  one  man  in  a  ravine  under  the  Knock  of 
Braemory,  near  the  source  of  the  Burn  of  Newton. 

In  the  old  "  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland," 
edited  by  Sir  John  Sinclair,  and  published  in 
twenty- one  volumes  between  the  years  1791  and 


THE   WOLF.  181 

1799,  a  lew  entries  relating  to  the  Wolf  occur, 
but  they  are  neither  numerous  nor  important. 
Mr  J.  A.  Harvie  Brown,  who  has  lately  examined 
the  entire  series  of  volumes  for  another  purpose,  has 
obligingly  communicated  the  following  particulars : 
"  The  woods  in  Blair  Athole  and  Strowan  in  Perth- 
shire once  afforded  shelter  for  Wolves  (vol.  ii.  p.  486), 
as  did  also  the  district  around  Cathcart  in  Renfrew- 
shire (vol.  v.  p.  347).  In  Orkney  it  appears  they 
were  unknown  (vol.  vii.  p.  546).  The  wilds  and 
mountains  of  Glenorchay  and  Innishail  in  Argyll- 
shire are  noted  as  being  formerly  haunted  by  these 
animals,  whence  they  issued  to  attack  not  only  the 
iiock  but  their  owners  (vol.  viii.  p.  343).  Towards 
the  west  end  of  the  parish  of  Birse  in  Aberdeen - 
shire  there  is  a  place  in  the  Grampians  still  known 
( 1 793)  by  the  name  of  the  Wolf-holm  (vol.  ix.  p.  1 08). 
Ubster,  a  town  in  Caithness  (from  'Wolfster,' 
Danish  or  Icelandic),  appears  to  have  received  its 
name  either  from  its  being  of  old  a  place  infested 
with  Wolves,  or  from  a  person  of  the  name  of  Wolf 
(vol.  x.  p.  32).  In  Banffshire  the  last  Wolf  is  said 
to  have  been  killed  in  the  parish  of  Kirkmichael 
about  1644"  (vol.  xii.  p.  447). 

Dr.  Robert  Brown  heard  a  tradition  in  Caithness- 
shire  that  the  wood  on  the  hills  of  Yarrow,  near 
Wick,  was  cut  down  about  the  year  1500  by  the 
enraged  dwellers  in  the  district  on  account  of  its 
harbouring  Wolves,  and  that  the  last  Wolf  in  that 
neighbourhood  was  killed  between  Brabster  and 
Freswick  in  a  hollow  called  Wolfsburn. 

N  2 


1 8 2  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

The  place  where  the  last  Wolf  that  infested  Mon- 
teith  was  killed  is  a  romantic  cottage  south-west  of  the 
mill  of  Milling,  in  the  parish  and  barony  of  Port,* 

"  The  devastations  of  Oliver  Cromwell  in  the  vast 
oak  and  fir  woods  of  Lochaber  are  well  known,  and 
hi  1 848  the  old  people  still  retained  traditions  of  the 
native  clearances  in  the  same  century,  when  the 
great  tracts  south,  of  Loch  Treig  and  upon  the  Black- 
water  were  set  on  fire  to  exterminate  the  Wolves,  "t 

In  the  Edderachillis  district,  forming  the  -western 
portion  of  what  is  called  Lord  Reay's  country,  a 
tradition  existed  to  the  effect  that  Wolves  were  at 
one  time  so  numerous  that  to  avoid  their  ravages  in 
disinterring  bodies  from  their  graves,  the  inhabitants 
were  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  the  island  of  Handa 
as  a  safer  place  of  sepulture,  j 

The  Earl  of  Ellesmere,  referring  to  an  extract  from 
the  journal  of  his*  son,  the  Hon.  Capt.  Francis 
Egerton,  R.N.,  written  in  India,  and  relating  to  an 
apparently  well  authenticated  story  of  some  children 
in  Oude  who  were  carried  away  and  brought  up  by 
Wolves, §  says  :  "  It  is  odd  that  the  same  tale  should 
extend  to  the  Highlands.  I  got  a  story  identical  in 
all  its  particulars  of  the  Wolf  time  of  Sutherland  from 
the  old  forester  of  the  Reay,  in  which  district  Gaelic 
tradition  avers  that  Wolves  so  abounded  that  it  was 
usual  to  bury  the  dead  in  the  Island  of  Handa  to 
avoid  desecration  of  the  graves." 

*  Nimmo's  "  Stirlingshire,"  pp.  745,  750. 

f  Stuart,  "  Lays  of  the  Deer  Forest,"  ii.  p.  221. 

J  Wilson's  "  Voyage  round  Scotland,"  vol.  i.  p.  346. 

§  "  Ann.  and  Mag.  Nat.  Hist.,"  second  series,  viii.  p.  153. 


THE   WOLF.  183 

There  is  a  tradition  on  Loch  Awe  side,  Argyllshire, 
that  Green  Island  was  used  as  a  burial-place  for  the 
same  reason.* 

In  like  manner  an  island  in  Loch  Maree,  Ross-shire, 
was  for  the  same  reason  selected  for  a  similar  purpose.t 

On  the  western  shores  of  Argyllshire  the  small  isle 
of  St.  Mungo,  still  used  as  a  burial-place,  has  been 
appropriated  to  this  purpose  from  the  days  when  the 
Wolves  were  the  terror  of  the  land,  the  passage 
between  it  and  the  mainland  opposing  a  barrier  which 
they  in  vain  attempted  to  cross.J 

In  Athole  it  was  formerly  the  custom  to  bury  the 
dead  in  coffins  made  of  five  flagstones  to  preserve  the 
bodies  from  Wolves.  § 

When  treating  of  the  Wolf  in  England  it  was 
observed"  that  many  names  of  places  compounded  of 
"  Wolf"  indicate  in  all  probability  localities  where  this 
.animal  was  at  one  time  common.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  Scotland.  Chalmers  cites  in  Roxburghshire, 
"  Wolf-cleugh  "  in  Roberton  parish  on  Borthwick 
Water ;  " Wolf-cleugh"  on  Rule  Water;"  and  "  Wolf- 
hope"  on  Catlee-burn,  in  Southdean  parish  ;||  to  which 
maybe  added  "Wolflee"  or  "Woole,"  on  Wauchope- 
burn;  and  "  Wolfkeilder "  on  the  Northumbrian 
border.  There  are  also  "  Wolf- gill  land,"  in  the 


*  This  island  is  still  used  as  a  burying -ground.  Mr.  Harvic  Browii 
saw  fresh  graves  there  in  May,  1879. 

f  Macculloch's  •'  Western  Isles,"  quoted  in  Chambers'  "  Gazetteer 
of  Scotland,"  p.  755. 

£  Constable's  Edinburgh  Magazine,  Nov.  1817,  p.  340. 

§  "  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland"  (1972),  vol.  ii.  p.  465. 

||  Chambers'  "  Caledonia,"  vol.  ii.  p.  132. 


1 84  EXTINCT  BRUTISH  ANIMALS. 

parish  and  shire  of  Dumfries,  and  "Wolfstan,"  in> 
the  parish  of  Pencaitland,  East  Lothian.* 

Craigmaddie,  "  the  rock  of  the  Wolf,"  in  the  parish 
of  Baldernock,  and  Stronachon,  "the  ridge  of  the 
dog,"  in  the  parish  of  Dry  men,  point  by  their  name 
to  localities  in  Stirlingshire  which  were  formerly  the 
haunts  of  the  Wolf. 

Mr.  Hardy  states  (/.  c.)  that  on  the  farm  of  Gods- 
croft  a  cairn,  now  removed,  was  called  "  Wolf-camp."" 
It  may  have  been  a  Wolf  s  den,  or  perhaps  an  ancient 
"  meet  "  of  the  Wolf-hunters  who  were  summoned  by 
the  sheriff  in  the  days  of  the  early  Kings  James. 

He  adds  that  in  1/69  there  was  a  farm  called 
"Burnbrae"  and  "Wolfland"  in  the  parish  of 
Nenthorn  belonging  to  Kerr  of  Fowberry.  The 
name  seems  to  imply  that  it  had  been  held  in  former 
times  by  the  tenure  of  hunting  the  Wolf;  lands  thus 
granted  being  called  "  Wolf-hunt  lands,"  as  already 
remarked  under  the  head  of  the  Wolf  in  England. 

In  1756  BufFon  was  assured  by  Lord  Morton,  then 
President  of  the  Royal  Society,  "  a  Scotsman  worthy 
of  the  greatest  credit  and  respect,  and  proprietor  of 
large  territories  in  that  country,"  that  Wolves  still 
existed  in  Scotland  at  that  date. 

William  Smellie,  the  translator  and  editor  of 
Buffon's  "  Natural  History,"  thus  comments  on  this 
statement  (vol.  iv.  p.  210,  note,  3rd  edit.,  1791):  "We 
are  fully  disposed  to  give  due  weight  to  an  authority 
so  respectable  and  so  worthy  of  credit ;  but  we  are 
convinced  that  the  Count  has  misapprehended  his. 

*  Hardy,  "Proc.  Berwickshire  Naturalists'  Club,"  1861,  p.  289. 


THE   WOLF.  185 

lordship,  for  it  is  universally  known  to  the  inhabitants 
of  Scotland  that  not  a  single  Wolf  has  been  seen  in 
any  part  of  that  country  for  more  than  a  century  past." 
In  asserting  that  this  is  universally  known  to  the 
inhabitants  of  Scotland,  the  translator  and  editor  has 
erred  in  the  other  extreme,  for,  as  has  been  already 
shown,  Wolves  were  killed  in  Sutherland  within  fifty 
years  of  the  date  of  his  remark  and  within  thirteen 
years  of  the  date  mentioned  by  Buffon. 

HISTORICAL  EVIDENCE.— IRELAND. 

From  the  scanty  and  more  or  less  inaccessible 
nature  of  the  records  relating  to  the  natural  history 
of  Ireland,  compared  with  what  exists  in  the  case  of 
England  and  Scotland,  the  result  of  a  search  for 
materials  for  a  history  of  the  Wolf  in  Ireland  has 
proved  less  satisfactory  than  could  have  been  wished. 
Nevertheless,  some  curious  fragments  of  information 
on  the  subject  have  been  collected  from  various 
sources,  and  are  now  brought  together  for  the  first 
time. 

There  is  abundant  evidence  to  show  that  Wolves 
formerly  existed  in  great  numbers  in  Ireland,  and 
that  they  maintained  their  ground  for  a  longer 
period  there  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  United 
Kingdom.  In  bygone  ages  they  must  have  fared 
sumptuously  amongst  the  herds  of  reindeer  and 
Irish  elk,  which  at  one  time  were  contemporary  with 
them ;  and  the  discovery  of  numerous  skeletons, 
often  entire  herds  of  deer,  imbedded  in  the  mud  of 
ancient  lakes,  has  led  to  the  surmise  that  these 


1 86  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

animals    probably   perished    in    this   way   in    their 
attempts  to  escape  from  packs  of  pursuing  Wolves. 

'  Giraldus  Cambrensis,  who  lived  in  the  reigns  of 
Henry  II.,  Richard  I.,  and  John,  and  who  visited 
Ireland  in  1183  and  again  in  1185-6,  when  he 
accompanied  Prince  John  there,  has  left  a  curious 
account  of  the  wild  animals  then  existing  in  Ireland, 
amongst  which  is  included  the  Wolf.  He  adds,  "  the 
Wolves  often  have  whelps  in  the  month  of  December, 
either  in  consequence  of  the  great  mildness  of  the 
climate,  or  rather  in  token  of  the  evils  of  treason 
and  rapine,  which  are  rife  here  before  their  proper 
season."^ 

In  the  "Polychronicon."  of  Ranulphus  Higden,  the 
monk  of  Chester,  who  died  about  1360,  we  have  a 
later  account  of  the  Irish  fauna,  and  in  this  also  the 
Wolf  figures.  Thus  he  says  : — "  Terra  hcec  magis 
vaccis  quam  bobus,  pascuis  quam  frugibus,  gramine 
quam  grano  fecunda.  Abundat  tamen  salmonibus, 
murcenis,  anguillis,  et  cceteris  marinis  piscibus ;  aquilis 
quoque,  gruibus,  pavonibus,  coturnidbus,  niso,  falcone 
et  acdptre  generoso.  Lupos  quoque  habet,  mures 
nocentissimos ;  sed  et  araneas,  sanguisugas,  et  lacertas 
habet  innocuas.  Mustelas  quoque  parvi  corporis  sed 
valde  animosas  possidet:\  This  passage  is  thus 
rendered  by  his  translator,  John  Trevisa  (A.D.  1357- 
1387),  and  adopted  by  Caxton  in  his  "  Crony cles  of 

*  "Topographia  Hiberniae,"  lib.  ii.  cap.  xxvi.  p.  726,  ed.  Dimock, 
vol.  v.  p.  112.  And  not  only  "Wolves,  but  crows  and  owls  are  said  to 
have  had  young  at  Christmas.  Op.  cit.,  p.  112. 

f  "Polychronicon  Ranulphi  Higden,  Monachi  Cestrensis,"  ed. 
15abington  (Master  of  the  Rolls  Series),  vol.  i.  pp.  334,  335. 


THE   WOLF.  187 

England,"  1480  : — "  In  this  londbeetli  mo  kyn  than 
oxen,  more  pasture  than  corne,  more  grass  than  seed. 
There  is  grete  plente  of  samon,  of  lam  prey es,  of  eles, 
and  of  other  see  fisch  :  of  egles,  of  cranes,  of  pekokes, 
of  corlewes,  of  sparhaukes,  of  goshaukes,  and  of 
gentil  faucouns,  and  of  Wolfes,  and  of  wel  shrewed 
mys.  There  beeth  attercoppes,  blood-soukers,  and 
enettes  that  dooth  noon  harm,"  &c.*  Some  trans- 
lators and  later  copyists  have  here  and  there 
singularly  perverted  the  original  meaning  of  this 
passage  by  blunders  and  mistranslations.  Amongst 
these  may  be  mentioned  the  author  or  authors  of 
"  The  Book  of  Howth,"  a  small  folio  in  vellum  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  written  in  different  hands, 
and  preserved  amongst  the  Carew  MSS.  (vol.  dc.xxiii.), 
in  the  Lambeth  Library,  t 

*  Some  little  interest  attaches  to  this  passage  from  the  curious 
assemblage  of  animals  named  in  it.  At  the  period  referred  to  "cranes" 
seem  to  have  become  common  enough  in  Ireland:  "in  tanta  vero 
nnmcrositate  se  grues  inyenint,  ut  uno  in  greye  centum,  et  circiter  liunc 
numerum  frequenter  invcnias"  ("  Topog.  Hibcrn.,"  ed.  Dimock,  v.  46). 
By  "  pekokes"  (pavonilus),  it  would  seem  the  capercaillie  is  intended, 
" pavones  sllvestres  hie  abundant,"  says  Giraldus  (torn.  cit.  p.  47). 
"  Coturnicilus"  should  bo  rendered  "  quails,"  not  "curlews."  ("Item 
coturnicus  hicplurimi,"  Girald.  v.  47).  '-Mures  nocentissimoa"  are  not 
necessarily  shrew-mice,  which  are  insectivorous.  In  all  probability 
that  destructive  little  animal,  the  long-tailed  field-mouse  (Hits  sylvaticus) 
is  referred  to.  By  reading  "  arancos  "  (shrews)  for  "  araneas"  (spiders) 
some  confusion  is  accounted  for.  "  Attercoppes"  is  the  translation  of 
arancas.  Jamieson,  in  his  "  Scottish  Dictionary,"  gives  "  Atter-cap," 
"Attircop,"  spider,  with  two  variants— Northumberland,  "  Attercop," 
and  Cumberland,  "Attercob,"  a  cobweb.  A.  S.  atter  coppe,  from 
niter,  venenum,  and  copp,  calh; ;  receiving  its  denomination  partly  from 
its  form,  and  partly  from  its  character;  q.  a  cup  of  venom.  By 
"  bloodsuckers,"  of  course,  leeches  are  meant :  for  "  enettes  "  lacertas 
we  may  read  "  euettes"  or  "  evettes" — i.e.,  efts,  that  do  no  harm. 

f  Cf.  Brewer  and  Bnllon,  Calendar  Carew  MSS.,  "The  Book  of 
Howth,"  p.  31. 


1 88  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

Campion,  whose  "History  of  Ireland"  was  pub- 
lished in  1570,  refers  to  the  chase  of  the  Wolf  there 
with  Wolf-hounds.  "  The  Irish,"  he  says,  "  are  not 
without  Wolves,  or  greyhounds  to  hunt  them  ;  bigger 
of  bone  and  limme  than  a  colt."* 

Sir  James  Ware,  in  his  "Antiquities  of  Ireland" 
(1658),  notices,  "those  hounds  which,  from  their 
hunting  of  Wolves,  are  commonly  called  '  Wolf-dogs/ 


IRISH   -WOLF-HOUND. 


being  creatures  of  great  strength  and  size,  and  of  a 
fine  shape." 

Ray  has  described  the  Irish  Wolf-hound  as  a  tall, 
rough  greyhound  ;  so  also  has  Pennant,  who  descants 
at  some  length  on  his  extraordinary  size  and  power. 

The  Wolf-hound  here  figured  is  a  dog  belonging  to 

*  See  also Holinshed,"Descrip.Irel."  1586;  and  Camclen,  "Britannia," 
vol.  ii.  p.  1312  (ed.  Gibson). 


THE   WOLF.  189 

Capt.  G.  H.  Graham,  of  Rednock,  Dursley,  Glouces- 
tershire, and  bred  from  the  only  authentic  strain 
of  Irish  Wolf-hound  now  known.  His  dimensions 
are  as  follows  : — Height,  29^  in.  ;  girth,  33  J  in.  ; 
length  of  head,  1 2  in.  ;  girth  of  do.  in  front  of  earsr 
:8f  in.  ;  forearm,  S^  in.  Weight,  102  Ibs. 

In  a  Privy  Seal  from  Henry  VIII.  to  the  Lord- 
Deputy  and  Council  of  Ireland,*  his  Majesty  takes 
notice  of  the  suit  of  the  Duke  of  Albuquerque,  of 
Spain  (of  the  Privy  Council  to  Henry  VIII.),  on 
behalf  of  the  Marquis  Desarrya  and  his  son,  "  that 
it  might  please  his  Majesty  to  grant  to  the  said 
Marquis  and  his  son,  and  the  longer  liver  of  them, 
yearly,  out  of  Ireland,  two  goshawks,  and  four  Wolf- 
hounds," and  commands  the  Deputy  for  the  time 
being  to  order  the  delivery  of  ths  hawks  and  hounds, 
and  to  charge  the  cost  to  the  Treasury. 

In  November,  1562,  as  we  learn  from  the  State 
Papers  relating  to  Ireland,t  the  Irish  chieftain,  Shane 
O'Neill,  forwarded  to  Queen  Elizabeth,  through 
Robert  Dudley,  Earl  of  Leicester,  a  present  of  two 
horses,  two  hawks,  and  two  Irish  Wolf-dogs.  In 
1585,  Sir  John  Perrott,  who  was  Lord-Deputy  of 
Ireland  from  January,  1584,  to  July,  1588,!  sent  to 
Sir  Francis  Walsingham,  then  Secretary  of  State  in. 
London,  "  a  brace  of  good  Wolf-dogs,  one  black,  the 
other  white." 

Again,  in  1 608,  we  find  that  Irish  Wolf-hound* 
were  sent  from  Ireland  by  Captain  Esmond,  of 

*  Hot.  Cane.  Dec,  9,  36  H.  8,  dorso. 
f  Eliz.,  vol.  vii.  No.  40,  in  Pub.  Rec.  Off.        J  Eliz.,  vol.  cxx.  No.  12. 


1 90  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

Duncaimon,  to  Gilbert,  seventh  Earl  of  Shrews- 
bury. * 

These  dogs  were  considered  very  valuable,  and 
were  highly  thought  of  by  those  who  received  them 
as  presents ;  but  some  years  later,  when,  owing  to 
the  great  increase  in  the  number  of  Wolves  in  some 
parts  of  Ireland,  their  services  were  more  than  ever 
required  to  keep  down  these  ferocious  animals,  a 
law,  presently  to  be  noticed,  was  passed  to  prohibit 
their  exportation. 

About  this  time  George  Turbervile,  a  gentleman  of 
Dorsetshire,  was  writing  his  "  Booke  of  Hunting,"! 
in  which,  referring  to  this  animal,  he  says  : — "  The 
Wolf  is  a  beaste  sufficiently  known  in  France  and 
other  countries  where  he  is  bred ;  but  here  in 
England  they  be  not  to  be  found  in  any  place.  In 
Ireland,  as  I  have  heard,  there  are  great  store  of 
them ;  and  because  many  noblemen  and  gentlemen 
have  a  desire  to  bring  that  countrie  to  be  inhabited 
and  civilly  governed  (and  would  God  there  were 
more  of  the  same  mind),  therefore  I  have  thought  good 
to  set  down  the  nature  and  manner  of  hunting  the 
Wolf  according  to  mine  author.  "J  He  then  proceeds 
to  describe  the  mode  then  in  vogue  of  hunting  this 
animal.  An  open  spot  was  generally  chosen,  at 
some  distance  from  the  great  coverts  where  the 
Wolves  were  known  to  lie,  and  here,  in  concealment, 
a  brace,  sometimes  two  brace,  of  Wolf-hounds  were 

*  "  Archaeol.  .ZEliana,"  vol.  ii.  p.  226. 

t  "Imprinted  at  London  for  Christopher  Barker  at  the  sigiie  of  the 
Ci  rashopper  in  Paules  Churchyarde.      Anno  1575." 
J  Jacques  de  Fouilloux,  "Traite  do  Yenerie." 


THE   WOLF.  igi 

placed.  A  horse  was  killed,  and  the  fore-quarters- 
were  trailed  through  the  paths  and  ways  in  the 
wood  during  the  previous  day,  and  back  to  where  the 
carcase  lay,  and  there  they  were  left.  When  night 
approached,  out  came  the  Wolves,  and  having  struck 
the  scent,  they  followed  it  until  they  found  the  dead 
horse,  when  of  course  they  began  to  feed  on  the 
flesh,  and  early  in  the  morning,  just  before  daybreak, 
the  hunters  placed  their  dogs  so  as  to  prevent  the 
Wolves  from  returning  to  cover.  When  a  Wolf 
came  to  the  spot,  the  men  in  charge  of  the  Wolf- 
hounds suffered  him  to  pass  by  the  first,  but  the 
last  were  let  slip  full  in  his  face,  and  at  the  same 
instant  the  others  were  let  slip  also,  so  that,  the 
first  staying  him  ever  so  little,  he  was  sure  to  be 
attacked  on  all  sides  at  once,  and  therefore,  the 
more  easily  taken.* 

In  Robert  Legge's  "  Book  of  Information/'  com- 
piled in  1 5 84  by  order  of  Sir  John  Perrott,  the  above- 
named  Lord-Deputy  of  Ireland,  "  for  the  information 
of  the  civil  government  of  that  realm,"  it  is  recom- 
mended, inter  alia,  that  for  the  "  destruction  of  raven- 
ing and  devouring  Wolves,  some  order  might  be  had,  as 
when  any  lease  is  granted,  to  put  in  some  clause  that 
the  tenant  endeavour  himself  to  spoil  and  kill  Wolves 
with  traps,  snares,  or  such  devices  as  he  may  devise,  "t 

*  The  most  complete  account  which  we  have  met  with  of  Wolf- 
hunting  in  modern  times  is  that  given  by  Col.  Thornton  in  his 
"Sporting  Tour  through  various  parts  of  France  in  1802,"  vol.  i. 
pp.  xxi-xxxix.  A  more  recent  treatise,  however,  has  been  published 
under  the  title  of  "  Wolf-hunting  in  Brittany." 

f  Carew  MSS.,  vol.  dcvii.  p.  115.  Brewer  and  Bullen,  Calendar  of 
Carew  MSS.,  Eliz.,  p.  401. 


1 9 2  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS, 

About  this  time,  it  is  said,  Wolves  committed 
great  devastation  amongst  the  flocks  in  Munster. 
After  the  destruction  of  Kilmallock  by  James 
Fitzmaurice,  in  1591,  that  place  is  stated  to  have 
become  the  haunt  of  Wolves. 

For  some  account  of  their  ravages  during  Des- 
mond's rebellion,  the  reader  may  be  referred  to 
O'Sullivan's  "  Compendium  Historise  Catholic® 
Hiberniee,"  1621  (lib.  viii.  cap.  6). 

At  a  later  period,  according  to  Fynes  Moryson, 
who  was  Secretary  to  Lord-Deputy  Mountjoy,  and 
who  wrote  a  "History  of  Ireland  from  1599  to 
1603,"  the  cattle  had  to  be  driven  in  at  night,  "for 
fear  of  thieves  (the  Irish  using  almost  no  other  kind 
of  theft),  or  else  for  fear  of  Wolves,  the  destruc- 
tion whereof  being  neglected  by  the  inhabitants, 
oppressed  with  greater  mischiefs,  they  are  so  much 
grown  in  numbers  as  sometimes  on  winter  nights 
they  will  come  and  prey  in  villages  and  the  suburbs 
of  cities."* 

In  May,  1594,  Lord  William  Russell  was  ap- 
pointed Lord-Deputy  of  Ireland  by  Queen  Elizabeth. 
From  entries  in  his  "Journal,"  extending  from  "June 
24,  1 594,  to  May  27,  1 597,"!  it  appears  that  both  he 
and  Lady  Russell,  who  accompanied  him  to  Ireland, 
frequently  participated  in  the  pleasures  of  the  chase, 
and  amused  themselves  at  different  times  with  hawk- 
ing, fishing,  and  hunting.  Under  date  May  26, 
1596,  it  is  recorded:  "My  Lord  and  Lady  rode 

*  Moryson,  "Hist.  Ireland,"  Dublin  ed.,  1735,  v°l-  "•  P-  367. 

f  Preserved  amongst  the  Carew  MSS.  at  Lambeth  Palace,  vol.  dcxii. 


THE   WOLF.  193 

abroad  a  hunting  the  Wolf."  As  the  Vice-regal  Court 
was  then  located  at  Kilmainham,  almost  within 
the  city  of  Dublin,  it  would  appear  that  the  Wolf 
in  question  was  to  be  found  at  no  great  distance 
beyond  the  city  walls, 

Sir  Arthur  Chichester,  writing  to  Sir  John  Davys, 
March  31,  1 609,  in  reference  to  the  pending  planta- 
tion of  Ulster,  incidentally  remarks,  that  "  if  the 
Irish  do  not  possess  and  inhabit  a  great  part  of  the 
lands  in  some  of  those  escheated  countries,  none  but 
Wolves  and  wild  beasts  would  possess  them  for  many 
years  to  come  ;  for  where  civil  men  may  have  lands 
for  reasonable  rents  in  so  many  thousand  places  in 
that  province,  and  in  this  whole  kingdom,  they  will 
not  plant  themselves  in  mountains,  rocks  and  desert 
places,  though  they  might  have  the  land  for  nothing.  "* 

In  the  reign  of  James  I.  it  would  seem  that 
active  measures  were  advised  for  the  destruction  of 
Wolves  in  Ireland,  and  the  following  "  Heads  of  a 
Bill  in  the  Irish  Parliament,  1611,"  will  be  found 
preserved  amongst  the  Carew  MSS.,  formerly  in  the 
Record  Office,  but  now  at  Lambeth  Palace  :t  "  An 
Act  for  killing  Wolves  and  other  vermin,  touching 
the  days  of  hunting,  the  people  that  are  to  attend, 
who  to  be  their  director,  an  inhibition  not  to  use  any 
arms.  The  Lord  Deputy  or  Principal  Governor  to 
prohibit  such  hunting  if  he  suspect  that  such  assem- 
blies by  colour  of  hunting  may  prove  inconvenient." 

*  State  Papers,  Ireland,  in  Record  Office,  vol.  ccxxvi,  58. 
t  Carew,  MSS.,  vol.  dcxxix.  p.  35.  See  also  Hamilton's  "  Calendar  of 
State  Papers  referring  to  Ireland,"  Jac.  I.,  sub  anno,  p.  192. 


ip4  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

This  proposed  Act,  however,  seems  never  to  have 
become  law,  for  no  mention  of  it  is  made  in  the  eight 
volumes  of  Irish  Statutes  published  by  authority  in 
Dublin  in  1765.  It  is  not  surprising  therefore  that 
the  ravages  of  the  Wolves  in  Ireland  continued.  In 
1619  their  numbers  in  Ulster  compelled  people  "to 
house  their  cattle  in  the  bawnes  of  their  castles, 
where  all  the  winter  nights  they  stood  up  to  their 
bellies  in  dirt.  Another  reason  is  to  prevent  thieves 
and  false-hearted  brethren  who  have  spies  abroad, 
and  will  come  thirty  miles  out  of  one  province  into 
another  to  practise  a  cunning  robbery."''5 

Howell,  in  one  of  his  "  Familiar  Letters,"  written 
to  Sir  James  Crofts,  September  6th,  1624,  says: — A 
pleasant  tale  I  heard  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax  relate  of 
a  souldier  in  Ireland,  who  having  got  his  passport  to 
go  for  England,  as  he  past  through  a  wood  with 
his  knapsack  upon  his  back,  being  weary,  he  sate 
down  under  a  tree  wher  he  open'd  his  knapsack  and 
fell  to  some  victuals  he  had  ;  but  upon  a  sudden  he 
was  surpriz'd  with  two  or  three  Woolfs,  who,  coming 
towards  him.  he  threw  them  scraps  of  bread  and 
cheese  till  all  was  done ;  then  the  Woolfs  making  a 
nearer  approach  unto  him,  he  knew  not  what  shift  to 
make,  but  by  taking  a  pair  of  bagpipes  which  he 
had,  and  as  soon  as  he  began  to  play  upon  them,  the 
Woolfs  ran  all  away  as  if  they  bad  been  scar'd  out  of 
their  wits.  Whereupon  the  souldier  said,  "  A  pox 
take  you  all,  if  I  had  known  you  had  lov'd  musick 
so  well,  you  should  have  had  it  before  dinner !" 

*  Gainsford's  "  Glory  of  England,"  p.  148. 


THE   WOLF.  195 

In  1 64 1  and  1652  Wolves  were  particularly  trouble- 
some in  Ireland,  and  in  the  latter  year  the  following 
Order  in  Council  was  issued  by  Cromwell,  prohibiting 
the  exportation  of  Wolf-dogs  :— 

"Declaration  against  transporting  of  Wolfe  Dogges. 

"Forasmuch  as  we  are  credibly  informed  that 
Wolves  doe  much  increase  and  destroy  many  cattle 
in  several  partes  of  this  Dominion,  and  that  some  of 
the  enemie's  party,  who  have  laid  down  armes,  and 
have  liberty  to  go  beyond  sea  and  others,  do  attempt 
to  carry  away  such  great  dogges  as  are  commonly 
called  Wolfe  dogges,  whereby  the  breed  of  them  which 
are  useful  for  destroying  of  Wolves  would  (if  not 
prevented)  speedily  decay.  These  are  therefore  to 
prohibit  all  persons  whatsoever  from  exporting  any 
of  the  said  dogges  out  of  this  Dominion ;  and 
searchers  and  other  officers  of  the  Customs,  in  the 
several  partes  and  creekes  of  this  Dominion,  are 
hereby  strictly  required  to  seize  and  make  stopp  of 
all  such  dogges,  and  deliver  them  either  to  the  com- 
mon huntsman,  appointed  for  the  precinct  where  they 
are  seized  upon,  or  to  the  governor  of  the  said  precinct. 

"Dated  at  KILKENNY,  April  27,  1652." 

The  following  year  another  Order  in  Council  was 
made  which  ran  as  follows  : — 

"Declaration  touching  Wolves. 

"For  the  better  destroying  of  Wolves,  which  of 
late  years  have  much  increased  in  most  parts  of  this 


196  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

nation,  it  is  ordered  that  the  Commanders  in  Chiefe 
and  Commissioners  of  the  Revenue  in  the  several 
precincts  doe  consider  of,  use,  and  execute  all  good 
waves  and  meanes  how  the  Wolves  in  the  counties 
and  places  within  the  respective  precincts  may  be 
taken  and  destroyed ;  and  to  employ  such  person  or 
persons,  and  to  appoint  such  daies  and  tymes  for 
hunting  the  Wolfe,  as  they  shall  adjudge  necessary. 
And  it  is  further  ordered  that  all  such  person  or 
persons  as  shall  take,  kill,  or  destroy  any  Wolfes  and 
shall  bring  forth  the  head  of  the  Wolfe  before  the 
said  commanders  of  the  revenue,  shall  receive  the 
sums  foUowing,  viz.,  for  every  bitch  Wolfe,  six 
pounds;*  for  every  dog  Wolfe,  five  pounds  ;  for 
every  cubb  which  preyeth  for  himself,  forty  shillings  ; 
for  every  suckling  cubb,  ten  shillings.  And  no 
Wolfe  after  the  last  September  until  the  loth 
January  be  accounted  a  young  Wolfe,  and  the  Com- 
missioners of  the  Revenue  shall  cause  the  same  to  be 
equallie  assessed  within  their  precincts. 

"DUBLIN,  June  29,  i653."t 

The  assessments  here  ordered  fell  heavily  in  some 
districts.  Thus  in  December,  1665,  the  inhabitants 
of  Mayo  county  petitioned  the  Council  of  State  that 
the  Commissioners  of  Assessment  might  be  at  liberty 

*  The  price  paid  in  Sutherlandshire,  in  1621,  was  61.  13*.  4^. 
See  p.  169. 

f  These  documents  were  extracted  from  the  original  Privv  Council 
Book  of  Cromwell's  government  in  Ireland,  preserved  in  Dublin  Castle 
and  are  quoted  by  Hardiman  in  his  edition  of  O'Flaherty's  "  West  or 
H'lar  Connaught,"  p.  180. 


THE  WOLF.  197 

to  compound   for  Wolf-heads ;  which  was  ordered 
accordingly. 

In  1662,  as  appears  by  the  Journal  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  Sir  John  Ponsonby  reported  from  the 
Committee  of  Grievances  that  a  Bill  should  be  brought 
in  "to  encourage  the  killing  of  Wolves  and  foxes  in 
Ireland. " 

In  the  "Travels  of  the  Grand  Duke  Cosmo  III.  in 
England,"  1669  (p.  103),  the  author  speaks  of  Wolves 
as  common  in  Ireland,  "for  the  hunting  of  which 
the  dogs  called  'mastiffs'  are  in  great  request." 

O'Flaherty,  in  his  "West  or  H'lar  Cormaught" 
(1684),  enumerates  the  wild  animals  which  were  to 
be  found  in  that  district  in  his  day,  and  names 
"  Wolves,  deere,  foxes,  badgers,  hedgehogs,  hares, 
rabbets,  squirrells,  martens,  weesles,  and  the  amphi- 
bious otter,  of  which  kind  the  white-faced  otter  is 
very  rare."  Hardiman,  in  a  note  to  his  edition  of 
this  work  (1846),  says:  "When  our  author  wrote 
(1684),  and  for  some  years  afterwards,  wolves  were 
to  be  found  in  lar  Connaught,  but  not  in  such 
numbers  as  in  the  early  part  of  that  century.  The 
last  Wolf  which  I  have  been  able  to  trace  here  was 
killed  in  the  mountains  of  Joyce  country,  in  the 
year  1700.  After  the  wars  of  1641  the  ravages  of 
the  Wolves  were  so  great  throughout  Ireland  as  to 
excite  the  attention  of  the  State.  '  Wolf-hunters ' 
were  appointed  in  various  districts,  and  amongst 
others  in  lar  Connaught,  who  helped  to  rid  the 
country  of  these  ferocious  animals.  "* 

*  Hardiman,  op.  cit.,  p.  10,  note. 

O  2 


1 98  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

In  an  account  of  the  British  Islands,  published  at 
Nuremberg  in  1 690,  the  Avilds  of  Kerry  are  referred 
to  as  harbouring  Wolves  and  foxes  ;*  and  in  the 
reign  of  William  and  Mary,  Ireland  was  sometimes 
called  by  the  nickname  of  "Wolf-land."  Thus  in 
a  poem  on  the  Battle  of  La  Hogue,  1692,  called 
"  Advice  to  a  Painter,"  the  terror  of  the  Irish  army 
is  described  : — 

A  chilling  damp, 
And  Wolf-land  howl  runs  through  the  rising  camp. 

"Three  places  in  Ireland  are  commemorated,  each  as 
having  had  the  last  Irish  wolf  killed  there — namely, 
one  in  the  south,  another  near  Glenarm,  and  the 
third,  Wolf-hill,  three  miles  from  Belfast. "t  The 
one  in  the  south  is  probably  that  referred  to  in 
Edwards's  "Cork  Remembrancer"  (p.  131),  wherein 
the  following  entry  occurs:  "This  year  (1710)  the 
last  presentment  [to  the  Grand  Jury]  for  killing 
wolves  was  made  in  the  county  of  Cork."J  In  the 
old  "  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland,"  however, 
edited  by  Sir  John  Sinclair,  it  is  stated  (voL,  xii. 
p.  447)  that  the  last  was  killed  in  Ireland  in  1 709. 

The  great  woods  of  Shillela,  on  the  confines  ot 
Carlow  and  Wicklow,  now  the  property  of  Earl 
Fitzwilliam,  are  said  to  have  held  Wolves  until 
about  the  year  1700,  when  the  last  of  them  was 
destroyed  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Glendaloch.§ 

*  This  work  we  have  not  seen.  It  is  quoted  by  Macaulay,  in  his 
"  History  of  England,"  vol.  iii.  p.  136. 

f  Thompson,  "  Nat.  Hist.,  Ireland,"  vol.  iv.  p.  34. 

J  See  also  Scouler,  "  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,"  Dublin,  vol.  i.  p.  226. 

§  Mackenzie's  "Natural  History,"  p.  20.  This  volume,  published  in 
London  in  modern  times,  is  undated, 


THE   WOLF.  199 

In  a  poem,  in  six  cantos,  published  as  late  as  1719, 
and  entitled,  "  MacDermot,  or  the  Irish  Fortune- 
Hunter,"  "  Wolf-hunting"  and  "  Wolf-spearing"  are 
represented  as  common  sports  in  Munster.  Here  is 
an  extract : — 

"  It  happen'd  on  a  day  with  horn  and  hounds, 
A  baron  gallop'd  through  MacDermot's  grounds, 
Well  hors'd,  pursuing  o'er  the  dusty  plain 
A  Wolf  that  sought  the  neighbouring  woods  to  gain  : 
Mac  hears  th'  alarm,  and,  with  his  oaken  spear, 
Joins  in  the  chase,  and  runs  before  the  peer, 
Outstrips  the  huntsman,  dogs,  and  panting  steeds, 
And,  struck  by  him,  the  falling  savage  bleeds." 

The  crest  of  the  O'Quins  of  Munster  is  "  a  Wolf's 
head,  erased,  argent,"  possibly  perpetuating  the 
prowess  of  some  former  noted  Wolf-hunter  in  that 
ancient  family. 

The  author  of  "The  Present  State  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,"  printed  in  London  in  1 738, 
wrote  at  that  date,  "  Wolves  still  abound  too  much 
in  Ireland ;  they  pray  for  the  Wolves,  least  they 
should  devour  them." 

In  Smith's  "  Ancient  and  Modern  State  of  the 
County  of  Kerry,"  1756  (of  which  book  Macaulay 
said,  "  I  do  not  know  that  I  have  ever  met  with  a 
better  book  of  the  kind  and  of  the  size,"  "Hist. 
Eng."  in.  1 36),  the  author,  speaking  of  certain  ancient 
enclosures,  observes  (p.  173)  that  many  of  them  were 
made  to  secure  cattle  from  Wolves,  which  animals 
were  not  entirely  extirpated  until  about  the  year 
1710,  as  I  find  by  presentments  for  raising  money 
for  destroying  them  in  some  old  grand -jury  books." 

Traces  of  old  circular  entrenchments,  into  which 


200  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

cattle  and  sheep  were  driven  for  protection  from 
Wolves,  are  still  to  be  seen  in  many  parts  of  Ireland, 
especially  in  the  south.  One  of  these,  in  the  county 
Tyrone,  will  be  noticed  presently. 

In  Harris's  edition  of  Sir  James  Ware's  "  Works  n 
(Dublin,  1764),  the  editor,  commenting  upon  the 
passage,  "  I  shall  but  just  hint  at  the  eagerness  of 
the  Irish  in  the  chase,  as  in  hunting  Wolves  and 
stags,"  remarks  in  a  footnote  (p.  165),  "So  said  in 
the  year  1658.  But  there  are  no  Wolves  in  Ireland 
now."  This  statement  in  turn  may  be  controverted 
upon  very  respectable  authority,  but  the  conflict  of 
evidence  renders  it  very  difficult  to  fix  with  certainty 
the  precise  date  at  which  the  animal  became  extinct. 

The  following  account  is  given  of  the  destruction, 
by  a  noted  Wolf-hunter,  of  the  last  Wolves  in  the 
county  Tyrone  : — 

"  In  the  mountainous  parts  of  the  county  Tyrone, 
the  inhabitants  suffered  much  from  Wolves,  and  gave 
as  much  for  the  head  of  one  of  these  animals  as  they 
would  now  give  (1829)  for  the  capture  of  a  notorious 
robber  on  the  highway.  There  lived  in  those  days. 
an  adventurer  who,  alone  and  unassisted,  made  it 
his  occupation  to  destroy  those  ravagers.  The  time 
for  attacking  them  was  at  night.  There  was  a 
species  of  dog  kept  for  the  purpose  of  hunting 
them,  resembling  a  rough,  stout,  half-bred  grey- 
hound, but  much  stronger. 

"In  the  county  Tyrone  there  was  then  a  large- 
space  of  ground  enclosed  by  a  high  stone  wall,  having 
a  gap  at  the  two  opposite  extremities,  and  in  this. 


THE  WOLF.  201 

were  secured  the  flocks  of  the  surrounding  farmers. 
Still,  secure  though  this  fold  was  deemed,  it  was 
entered  by  the  Wolves,  and  its  inmates  slaughtered. 

"  The  neighbouring  proprietors  having  heard  of  the 
noted  Wolf-hunter  above  mentioned,  by  name  Eory 
Carragh,  sent  for  him  and  offered  the  usual  reward, 
with  some  addition,  if  he  would  undertake  to  destroy 
the  two  remaining  Wolves  that  had  committed  such 
devastation.  Carragh,  undertaking  the  task,  took 
with  him  two  Wolf  dogs  and  a  little  boy,  the  only 
person  he  could  prevail  on  to  accompany  him,  and, 
at  the  approach  of  night,  repaired  to  the  fold  in 
question. 

"  '  Now,'  said  Carragh  to  the  boy,  '  as  the  Wolves 
usually  attack  the  opposite  extremities  of  the  sheep- 
fold  at  the  same  time,  I  must  leave  you  and  one  of 
the  dogs  to  guard  this  one,  while  I  go  to  the  other. 
He  steals  with  all  the  caution  of  a  cat ;  nor  will  you 
hear  him,  but  the  dog  will,  and  will  positively  give 
him  the  first  fall.  If  you  are  not  active  when  he  is 
down,  to  rivet  his  neck  to  the  ground  with  this  spear, 
he  will  rise  up  and  kill  both  you  and  the  dog.' 

"Til  do  what  I  can,'  said  the  boy,  as  he  took  the 
spear  from  the  Wolf- hunter's  hand. 

"  The  boy  immediately  threw  open  the  gate  of  the 
fold,  and  took  his  seat  in  the  inner  part,  close  to  the 
entrance,  his  faithful  companion  crouching  at  his  side 
and  seeming  perfectly  aware  of  the  dangerous  business 
he  was  engaged  in.  The  night  was  very  dark  and  cold, 
and  the  poor  little  boy  being  benumbed  with  the 
chilly  air,  was  beginning  to  fall  into  a  kind  of  sleep, 


202  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

when  at  that  instant  the  dog,  with  a  roar,  leaped 
across  him  and  laid  his  mortal  enemy  upon  the  earth. 
The  boy  was  roused  into  double  activity  by  the  voice 
of  his  companion,  and  drove  the  spear  through  the 
Wolf's  neck,  as  he  had  been  directed  ;  at  which  time 
Carragh  made  his  appearance  with  the  head  of  the 
other."* 

In  an  interesting  article  on  the  Irish  Wolf-dog, 
published  in  The  Irish  Penny  Journal  for  1841 
(p.  354),  the  writer  says  :t — "  I  am  at  present 
acquainted  with  an  old  gentleman  between  eighty 
and  ninety  years  of  age,  whose  mother  remembered 
Wolves  to  have  been  killed  in  the  county  of  Wexford 
about  the  years  1730-40,  and  it  is  asserted  by 
many  persons  of  weight  and  veracity  that  a  Wolf 
was  killed  in  the  Wicklow  mountains  so  recently 
as  1770. 

A  few  years  since,  Sir  J.  Emerson  Tennent  wrote 
on  this  subject  as  follows  : — 

"  Waringstown,  in  the  county  of  Down,  on  the  con- 
fines of  the  county  of  Armagh,  takes  its  name  from 
the  family  of  Waring,  which,  in  the  reign  of  Queen 
Mary,  fled  to  Ireland  from  Lancashire  to  avoid  the 
persecution  of  the  Lollards.  At  the  close  of  the 
seventeenth  century  the  Waring  of  that  day  was  a 
member  of  the  Irish  Parliament ;  and  his  eldest  son, 
Samuel  Waring,  was  born  about  the  year  1699,  and 

*  "  The  Biography  of  a  Tyrone  Family  "  (Belfast,  1829),  p.  74. 

f  This  article,  published  under  the  initials  of  H.  D.  R.,  has  since 
been  admitted  to  have  been  written  by  H.  D.  Richardson,  author  of 
"  The  Dog :  its  Origin,  Natural  History,  and  Varieties,"  in  which 
work  it  has  been  embodied  with  additions,  1848. 


THE   WOLF.  203 

<lied  at  a  very  advanced  age  in  1793.  Ho  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  nephew,  the  Very  Reverend  Holt 
Waring,  Dean  of  Dromore,  who  was  born  in  1766, 
and  whom  I  had  the  honour  to  know.  With  him  I 
happened  to  be  travelling  through  the  Mourne  moun- 
tains, in  the  county  of  Down,  on  our  way  to  the  Earl 
of  Roden's,  about  the  year  1 834  or  1 83  5,  when  the  con- 
versation turning  upon  the  social  condition  of  Ireland 
in  the  previous  century,  he  told  me  that  a  foal  belonging 
to  his  uncle  had  been  killed  by  a  Wolf  in  the  stable 
at  Waringstown,  and  that  he,  when  a  boy,  had  heard 
the  occurrence  repeatedly  adverted  to  in  the  family 
circle.  The  dean  was  a  man  of  singularly  acute  mind 
and  accurate  memory,  and  unless  this  statement  of  his 
be  altogether  a  delusion,  this  would  seem  to  be  the 
last  recorded  appearance  of  a  Wolf  in  Ireland. " 

The  last  piece  of  evidence  collected  has  reference 
to  a  communication  which  appeared  in  The 
Zoologist  for  1862  (p.  7996),  under  the  heading, 
"  Wolf  Days  of  Ireland."  On  applying  to  the  writer, 
Mr.  Jonathan  Grubb,  of  Sudbury,  for  further  parti- 
culars, he  obligingly  replied  in  a  letter,  dated  June  6, 
1877,  as  follows  : — 

"I  am  now  in  my  seventieth  year.  My  father, 
who  was  born  in  1767,  used  to  tell  the  Wolf  stones 
to  us  when  we  were  children.  His  mother — my 
grandmother — related  them  to  him.  She  was  born  in 
1731.  Her  maiden  name  was  Malone  ;  and  her 
uncles,  from  whom  she  received  her  information,  were 
the  actors  in  the  scenes  described  at  Ballyroggin, 
county  Kildare.  She  remembered  one  of  thorn, 


204  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

James  Malone,  telling  her  how  his  brother  came 
home  one  night  on  horseback  pursued  by  a  pack  of 
Wolves,  who  overtook  him,  and  continued  leaping  on 
to  the  hind  quarters  of  his  horse  till  he  reached  his 
own  door,  crying  out,  '  Oh !  James,  James  !  my  horse 
is  ate  with  the  Wolves.'  " 

The  precise  date  of  this  occurrence  cannot  now  be 
fixed ;  but  it  seems  plain  that  Wolves  existed  in 
Kildare  during  the  first  quarter  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  perhaps  as  late  as  1721. 

To  sum  up.  So  far  as  can  be  now  ascertained,  it 
appears  that  the  Wolf  became  extinct  in  England 
during  the  reign  of  Henry  VII.  ;  that  it  survived  in 
Scotland  until  1 743 ;  and  that  the  last  of  these  animals 
was  killed  in  Ireland,  according  to  Richardson,  in 
1770,  or,  according  to  Sir  James  Emerson  Tennent, 
subsequently  to  1766. 

In  the  foregoing  observations,  no  reference  has 
been  made  to  "  Were-wolves,"  nor  has  any  matter 
been  introduced  touching  the  fabulous  or  superstitious 
aspect  of  the  Wolfs  history  in  the  British  Islands. 
All  such  allusions  have  been  purposely  avoided,  in 
order  to  confine  the  subject  within  reasonable  limits. 

Before  concluding,  however,  we  may  perhaps  be 
excused  for  citing  so  respectable  an  authority  as  Sir 
Thomas  Browne,  who,  in  his  "  Enquiries  into  Vulgar 
and  Common  Errors,"  has  alluded  to  the  popular 
notion  that  Wolves  cannot  live  in  England. 

In  vol.  iii.  p.  344,  of  his  "  Works "  (Wilkin's 
edition),  he  says  : — "  Thus  because  there  are  no 
Wolves  in  England,  nor  have  been  observed  for  divers 


THE  WOLF.  205 

generations  (1646),  common  people  have  proceeded 
into  opinions,  and  some  wise  men  into  affirmations, 
that  they  will  not  live  therein,  although  brought 
from  other  countries." 

He  also  notices  the  popular  belief  that  "  a  Wolf 
first  seeing  a  man  begets  a  dumbness  in  him,"  a 
notion  as  old  as  the  time  of  Pliny,  who  wrote  :  "  In 
Italia,  ut  creditur,  luporum  visus  est  noxius,  vocemque 
homini,  quern  prius  contemplatur  adirnere"  In  France, 
when  anyone  becomes  hoarse,  the  say  "  II  a  vu  le 
loup."*  " 

"  The  ground  or  occasional  original  thereof,"  says 
Sir  Thomas  Browne,t  "  was  probably  the  amazement 
and  sudden  silence  the  unexpected  appearance  of 
Wolves  doth  often  put  upon  travellers,  not  by  a  sup- 
posed vapour  or  venomous  emanation,  but  a  vehement 
fear,  which  naturally  produceth  obmutescence,  and 
sometimes  irrecoverable  silence." 

A  critic,  adverting  to  this  passage,  has  somewhat 
wittily  remarked :  "  Dr.  Browne  did  unadvisedly 
reckon  this  among  his  vulgar  errors,  for  I  believe  he 
would  find  this  no  error  if  he  were  suddenly  sur- 
prised by  a  wolf,  having  no  means  to  escape  or  save 
himself!" 

*  Howell's  "  Familiar  Letters,"  vol.  ii.  p.  52. 
f  Op.  cit,  vol.  ii.  p.  422. 


CONCLUSION. 


Ix  considering  the  causes,  besides  those  already 
referred  to,  which  have  led  to  the  extinction  of 
the  wild  animals  now  under  consideration,  it  should 
be  borne  in  mind  that  for  some  centuries  after 
the  Norman  Conquest  they  were  not  hunted  down 
and  destroyed  by  everybody  and  anybody,  as 
they  would  be  if  they  existed  at  the  present 
day,  but  were  strictly  preserved  under  very  severe 
penalties  by  the  kings  and  powerful  noblemen  of 
the  day  for  their  own  particular  sport  and  recreation. 
William  the  Conqueror  punished  with  the  loss  of 
eyes  those  convicted  of  killing  a  wild  boar,  stag,  or 
roebuck  ;  and  wolves  and  foxes,  although  reckoned 
neither  as  beasts  of  the  forest  nor  of  venery,  could 
not  be  killed  within  the  limits  of  the  forest  without 
a,  breach  of  the  royal  chase,  for  which  offenders  had 
to  yield  a  recompense. 

The  inveterate  love  of  the  chase  possessed  by 
William  Rufus,  which  prompted  him  to  enforce  during 
his  tragical  reign  the  most  stringent  and  cruel  forest 
laws,  is  too  well-known  to  readers  of  history  to  require 
comment. 


CONCLUSION. 


207 


In  his  passion  for  hunting  wild  animals  Henry  I. 
excelled  even  his  brother  William,  and  not  content 
with  encountering  and  slaying  those  which  like  the 
wolf  and  the  wild  boar,  were  at  that  time  indi- 
genous to  this  country,  he  "  cherished  of  set  purpose 
sundrie  kinds  of  wild  beasts,  as  bears,  Hbards,  ounces, 
lions,  at  Woodstocke,  and  one  or  two  other  places  in 
England,  which  he  walled  about  with  hard  stone 
(A.D.  1120),  and  where  he  would  often  fight  with  some 
one  of  them  hand  to  hand." 

Henry  II.  and  John  were  both  great  preservers  of 
wild  animals,  and  monopolized  large  tracts  of  country 
wherein  to  indulge  their  passion  for  hunting.  Ferocious 
animals  were  in  consequence  long  suffered  to  remain 
at  large  against  the  will  of  the  people,  and  hence 
survived  to  a  much  later  period  in  this  country 
than  would  have  been  the  case  had  the  subjects  of 
these  monarchs  dared  sooner  to  assert  their  inde- 
pendence. But  at  length  came  the  repeal  of  the 
forest  laws.  The  operation  of  the  Charter  of  the 
Forests,  which  was  signed  by  John  at  the  same  time 
with  Magna  Charta,  restrained  the  worst  abuses  of 
the  feudal  tenure;  all  lands  which  had  been  con- 
verted into  woods  or  parks  since  the  commencement 
of  this  reign  were  disafforested,  and  the  tenants 
bordering  on  the  royal  forests  secured  against  spolia- 
tion ;  in  a  word,  the  laws  made  for  the  protection  of 
the  game  and  wild  animals  were  either  partially 
repealed  or  considerably  mitigated. 

A  confirmation  of  this  charter  was  obtained, 
though  with  much  difficulty,  from  Henry  III.  It 


208  EXTINCT  BRITISH  ANIMALS. 

directed  that  all  woods  that  had  been  taken  in,  or, 
as  it  was  termed,  afforested,  to  the  prejudice  of  the 
owners,  should  be  disafforested,  and  no  more  addi- 
tions were  to  be  made.  Still  further  concessions  on 
this  score  were  made  by  Edward  I. 

From  this  time  it  may  be  said  that  the  presence 
of  ferocious  animals  in  this  country  was  no  longer 
tolerated.  They  were  slain  wherever  and  whenever 
they  could  be  found,  and  only  managed  to  survive 
in  reduced  numbers,  for  some  few  centuries  longer, 
in  consequence  of  the  utter  impossibility  of  dislodging 
them  from  the  almost  impenetrable  forests  and  moun- 
tain fastnesses  to  which  they  were  driven.  Later  on, 
when  large  tracts  of  forests  were  purposely  cut  down 
or  burned  for  the  purpose  of  expelling  these  animals, 
and  statutes  were  put  in  force  which  rewarded 
the  slayers  of  them,  their  extermination  was  finally 
accomplished. 

Another  cause  which  has  doubtless  contributed  in 
no  slight  degree  to  the  extinction  of  the  above-men- 
tioned animals,  is  the  insular  character  of  the  country 
which  they  inhabited. 

As  civilization  advanced,  as  forests  were  cut  down, 
mosses  drained  and  moorlands  cultivated,  they  were 
driven  further  and  further  away,  until  finally  their 
retreat  was  cut  off  by  the  sea.  Unable  to  retire  beyond 
so  irresistible  a  barrier,  they  gradually  succumbed  to 
the  attacks  of  their  pursuers,  or  to  the  altered  condi- 
tions of  life,  which  deprived  them  per  force  of  the 
means  of  existence.  We  have  seen  how  fully  this 
is  exemplified  in  the  case  of  the  reindeer,  whose  last 


CONCLUSION.  209 

home  in  Britain  was  among  the  remote  hills  of  Caith- 
ness. 

To  the  naturalist  it  is  a  somewhat  sad  reflection, 
that  animals  of  the  forest  and  the  chase,  now  only 
known  by  name  as  the  inhabitants  of  other  countries, 
were  once  as  familiar  to  our  ancestors  as  they  are  at 
present  to  the  people  of  the  remote  kingdoms  which 
they  frequent.  Man  has  been  warring  against  these 
forest  denizens,  and  as  tract  after  tract  which  they 
once  claimed  as  their  own  has  been  brought  under 
the  ploughshare,  they  have  been  driven  farther  and 
farther  back,  until  the  last  of  them  has  been  blotted 
out  from  our  fauna. 

Lake  and  moor  have  become  fields  of  yellow  grain  ; 
forest  has  been  changed  into  morass,  morass  into 
moor,  and  moor  again  into  forest,  until  finding 
nowhere  to  rest  in  peace,  the  bear,  the  beaver,  the 
reindeer,  the  wild  boar,  and  the  wolf,  have  become 
in  Britain  amongst  the  things  that  were. 


PABT  II. 
BRITISH    WILD     WHITE    CATTLE. 


2I3 


WILD   WHITE   CATTLE. 

THE  few  scattered  herds  of  so-called  Wild  White 
Cattle  which  still  exist  in  parks  in  England  and 
Scotland  may  be  said  to  form  a  connecting  link,  as  it 
were,  between  the  wild  animals  which  have  become 
extinct  in  this  country  within  historic  times,  and 
those  which  may  still  be  classed  amongst  our  fercc 
naturae. 

The  race  is  undoubtedly  of  great  antiquity,  but 
whether  it   is  descended,  as  some  affirm,  from   tl.c 

p  2 


2i4  WILD   WHITE  CATTLE. 

aboriginal  wild  breed  of  the  British  forests — the 
Urus  of  Caesar  (Bos  primig eniits) — or  whether,  as 
others  assert,  it  has  at  some  period  long  remote 
been  imported  from  abroad  and  since  become  feral, 
are  questions  upon  which,  at  present,  considerable 
difference  of  opinion  prevails.  The  weight  of  scien- 
tific opinion,  however,  seems  to  favour  the  view  that 
these  wild  white  cattle  were  descended  from  the 
Urus,  either  by  direct  descent  through  wild  animals 
from  the  wild  bull,  or  less  directly  through  domesti- 
cated cattle  deriving  their  blood  principally  from 
him.  That  the  Urus  existed  in  Britain  in  prehistoric 
times,  and  was  contemporaneous  with  man  of  the 
Palaeolithic  or  older  Stone  Age,  must  be  admitted. 
In  the  fluviatile  deposits  of  the  Thames,  and  in  some 
other  places,  the  remains  of  the  two  have  been  found 
together,*  and  instances  have  been  recorded  in 
which  the  remains  of  the  Urus  have  been  found 
contemporaneous  with  man  of  the  Neolithic  or 
later  Stone  Age.  In  the  Zoological  Museum  at 
Cambridge,  where  there  is  a  remarkably  fine  skeleton 
of  this  animal  from  Burwell  Fen,  may  be  seen  the 
greater  portion  of  a  skull  from  the  same  locality,  in 
which  a  neolithic  celt  was  found,  and  still  remains 
imbedded. t  Another  skull  of  this  animal  was  found 
in  a  moss  in  Scotland,  in  conjunction  with  bronze 

*  The  Eev.  Samuel  Banks,  Sector  of  Cottenham,  possesses  a  fine 
skull  of  the  Urus,  found  in  Cottenham  Fen,  the  fractured  bone  of  which 
clearly  testifies  that  it  was  destroyed  by  a  human  weapon. 

t  See  Carter,  Geological  Magazine,  November,  1874.  Both  the 
specimens  here  referred  to  are  figured  in  Miller  and  Skertchley's  "  Fen- 
land,  Past  and  Present,"  p.  321. 


WILD   WHITE  CATTLE,  215 

celts,  indicating  a  still  later  period — the  Bronze 
Age. 

Mr.  Woods  has  published  a  good  description,  with 
figures  of  the  cranial  part  of  the  skull  and  horn-cores 
of  Bos primigenius  which  were  discovered  in  1838  in 
the  bed  of  the  Avon,  at  Melksham,  and  has  referred 
to  similar  remains  found  in  the  neighbourhoods  of 
Bath,  Tiverton  and  Newton  St.  Loe.* 

In  the  Magazine  of  Natural  History  (1838,  p.  163), 
Mr.  Brown  of  Stanway  has  recorded  the  discovery 
in  a  mass  of  drift  sand  overlying  the  London  clay 
at  Clacton,  Essex,  of  a  portion  of  the  cranium  with 
horn-cores  of  Bos  primigenius,  a  very  perfect  skull 
of  which  has  been  admirably  figured  by  Professor 
Owen,t  from  a  specimen  found  at  Athole,  Perthshire, 
and  preserved  in  the  British  Museum. 

Fleming,  in  his  "  History  of  British  Animals" 
(1828),  has  referred  to  a  skull  of  this  animal  which  is 
now  preserved  in  the  Museum  of  the  New  College, 
Edinburgh,  and  of  which  he  has  briefly  given 
dimensions.  It  was  found  in  a  marl-pit  at  New- 
burgh,  Fifeshire.  Through  the  kindness  of  Dr.  J.  A. 
Smith,  and  by  permission  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries 
of  Scotland,  we  are  here  enabled  to  figure  it  from  an 
illustration,  slightly  reduced,  in  Dr.  Smith's  excellent 
"  Notes  on  the  Ancient  Cattle  of  Scotland,"  printed 
in  the  "  Proceedings"  of  the  Society  referred  to.  To 
the  proprietors  of  The  Field  we  are  also  indebted 
for  permission  to  make  use  of  an  engraving  of  an 

*  Woods'  "  Description  of  Fossil  Skull  of  an  Ox,"  4to,  1839. 
f  "  British  Fossil  Mammals,"  p.  498. 


216 


WILD   WHITE  CATTLE. 


English  skull  of  this  animal,  which,  in  The  Field 
of  April  1 8,  1868,  illustrated  some  remarks  on  its 
discovery  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  W.  B.  Tegetmeier. 
This  specimen  was  found  in  the  bed  of  the  Kibble, 
below  Preston,  Lancashire,  in  the  spring  of  1867,  and 
passed  into  the  possession  of  Mr.  James  Dobson  of 
the  Preston  Chronicle,  who  kindly  forwarded  it  for 
examination. 


SKULL   OF   BOS   PRIMIGEX1US,    ril'E.SHIUE. 

Iii  these  and  other  instances  which  have  been- 
recorded,  the  animals  whose  remains  were  found  were, 
in  all  probability,  wild,  and  not  domesticated.  In- 
deed, no  discoveries  have  yet  been  made  which  lead 
to  the  supposition  that  the  Urus  was  domesticated  in 
Britain  in  pre-historic  times ;  while  Bos  longifrons, 
the  "  Celtic  short-horn,"  as  it  has  been  termed,  was 


WILD   WHITE  CATTLE,  217 

everywhere  subjugated  and  used  by  man.  The 
latter  was  the  only  ox  in  Britain  in  the  time  of  the 
Romans,  and  afforded  sustenance  to  their  legions. 
From  it  the  small  dark  breeds  of  Wales  and  Scotland 
are  descended  ;  and  it  survived  until  recently  in 
Cornwall,  Cumberland  and  Westmoreland.  The 
remains  of  Bos  longifrons  are  plentiful  in  the  English 
fens,  and  it  seems  to  have  afforded  a  staple  article  of 


SKULL   OF   BOS    PUIMIGEMUS,   LANCASHIRE. 

food  in  the  Neolithic  Age.  Mr.  Sydney  Skertchley 
found  immense  numbers  of  the  bones  of  this  animal 
in  what  are  probably  the  remains  of  a  Stone-age  lake- 
dwelling  at  Crowland.*  At  the  great  flint-implement 
manufactory  at  Grimes  Graves,  near  Brandon,  the 
remains  of  this  animal  are  very  plentiful,  and  belong 
chiefly  to  young  calves.  It  would  appear  from  this 

*  Miller  and  Skertchley,  "  Fcnland,   Past    and  Present,"  p.    343 
(1878). 


2i8  WILD   WHITE  CATTLE. 

that  a  principal  element  in  the  food  of  these  people 
was  milk,  and  therefore  they  could  not  afford  to  keep 
the  calves,  which  must  have  consumed  a  large  por- 
tion of  what  would  otherwise  have  been  available  for 
the  use  of  the  household.* 

But  to  return  to  Bos  primigenius.  While  such 
authorities  as  Professors  Riitimeyer  and  Nilsson, 
Sir  Charles  Lyell,  Professor  Boyd  Dawkins,t  and 
Mr.  Darwin  are  inclined  to  believe  that  our  wild  white 
cattle  are  descended  from  the  Urus  in  one  or  other  of 
the  two  ways  above  indicated,  Professor  Owen  and  Dr. 
J.  A.  Smith  (whose  excellent  "  Notes  on  the  Ancient 
Cattle  of  Scotland  "  are  apparently  less  known  than 
they  deserve  to  be})  hold  a  different  view,  and  con- 
sider that  Bos  primigenius  became  extinct  throughout 
the  whole  island  in  pre-historic  times.  There  seems  to 
be  much  probability,  though  it  can  scarcely  be  con- 
sidered proved,  that  such  was  the  case  in  the  southern 
parts  of  Britain;  but,  as  Mr.  Storer  in  his  lately 
published  work  has  pointed  out,§  it  has  yet  to  be  shown 
that  in  the  northern  parts  the  same  rule  prevailed, 
the  Caledonian  deposits  especially  (partly  perhaps  from 
their  remote  positions)  having  in  but  few  instances 
been  examined  with  that  consummate  skill,  care,  and 
attention  which  southern  discoveries  have  received. 

*  Greenwell,  'Grimes  Graves,'  "  Journ.  Eth.  Soc.,"vol.  ii.  p.43i  (1871). 

f  Professor  Boyd  Dawkins  once  thought  the  Urus  might  have  sur- 
vived in  Britain  within  historic  times  in  some  of  the  wilder  parts  of 
the  country, ("Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,"  1866,  p.  397),  but  subsequently 
altered  his  opinion  ("  Trans.  Internat.  Congress,  Praehist.  Archeeol.," 
1 868,  pp.  269-289.) 

J  See  "Pro.  Soc.  Antiq.  Scotl.,"  vol.  ix.  p.  587. 

§  "  The  Wild  White  Cattle  of  Great  Britain." 


WILD   WHITE  CATTLE.  219 

But  our  concern  is  not  so  much  with  the  origin  of  the 
race  of  wild  white  cattle,  of  which  a  few  representative 
animals  still  survive,  as  with  the  history  of  the  herds 
which  are  known  to  have  been  preserved  in  different 
parts  of  the  country,  and  of  which  some  half-dozen 
still  exist  at  the  present  day.  Of  these  we  propose 
to  give  some  account ;  but,  before  doing  so,  we  may 
glance  briefly  at  the  historical  notices  of  the  existence 
of  wild  cattle  in  England  and  Scotland  which  ha.ve 
been  preserved  to  us  in  the  works  of  various  his- 
torians, antiquaries,  and  naturalists.  On  looking 
over  the  plates  of  British  coins  figured  by  Camden 
in  his  "  Britannia"  (vol.  i.  p.  Ixv.)  we  were  struck  by 
a  coin  of  Cunobelin  (fig.  1 3)  bearing  on  the  obverse 
a  head  of  this  king,  and  on  the  reverse  a  really 
characteristic  figure,  as  we  take  it,  of  a  wild  bull — an 
animal  which  was  no  doubt  frequently  hunted  by  the 
early  rulers  of  Britain. 


COIN   Oi'    CUNOBELIN. 


Some  indication  of  the  existence  of  wild  cattle 
in  Saxon  times  is  furnished  in  the  celebrated 
traditionary  legend  of  the  slaughter  of  the  wild 
cow  by  Guy  Earl  of  Warwick,  which  is  said  to 
have  taken  place  in  the  days  of  King  Athelstan 
(A.D.  925-941).  The  ballad,  "Sir  Guy  of  War- 
wick," is  given  in  Ritson's  "  Ancient  Songs  and 


220  WILD   WHITE  CATTLE. 

Ballads,"  and  in  Percy's  "Keliques  of  Ancient 
English  Poetry,''  where  we  are  informed  that  it  was 
entered  on  the  Stationers'  books  in  1591,  although 
undoubtedly  of  much  older  date.  Much  of  this 
story,  as  Mr.  Storer  has  observed,  may  be  mythical, 
and  many  of  its  circumstances  fabulous ;  but  it 
nevertheless  seems  to  prove  just  as  clearly  the  exist- 
ence in  very  ancient  times  of  the  dangerous  and 
ferocious  wild  cow,  as  the  popular  ballads  about 
Robin  Hood  prove  the  existence  of  fallow  deer  in 
Sherwood  Forest  in  the  time  of  King  John.* 

In  the  Welsh  laws  of  Howell  Dha,  which  date 
from  about  A.D.  940,  or  before  the  middle  of  the 
loth  century,t  we  find  white  cattle  with  red  ears 
(that  is,  resembling  in  colour  the  wild  cattle  of 
Chillingham)  ordered  to  be  paid  in  compensation  for 
offences  committed  against  the  Princes  of  Wales. 
It  is  a  question,  however,  whether  the  description 
indicates  a  difference  of  breed,  or  merely  a  difference 
of  colour  in  individuals  of  the  ordinary  breed  of 
Welsh  cattle. 

In  the  forest  laws  of  King  Canute  (A.D.  i  o  1 4- 1 03 5) , 
wild  cattle  are  thus  referred  to :  "  There  are 
also  a  great  number  of  cattle  which,  although  they 
live  within  the  limits  of  the  forest,  and  are  subject 
to  the  charge  and  care  of  the  middle  sort  of  men, 

*  See  also  Woods'  remarks  on  this  point  in  his  "  Description  of  a 
Fossil  Skull  of  an  Ox  found  in  Wiltshire,"  4to,  1839. 

t  An  English  translation  of  these  laws  will  be  found  appended  to 
"  The  Myvyrian  Archaeology  of  Wales  collected  out  of  Ancient  Manu- 
scripts," ed.  Owen  Jones  and  others  (Denbigh,  1870),  pp.  1014-1062. 
Vide  cap.  ii.  §  3. 


WILD   WHITE  CATTLE.  221 

or  Ilegardors,  nevertheless  cannot  at  all  be  reputed 
beasts  of  the  forest  as  Avild  horses,  bubali,  wild  cows, 
and  the  like/'*  The  word  bubali,  literally  "  buffaloes," 
is  considered  to  mean  "  wild  bulls,"  being  the  sense 
in  which  it  is  frequently  used  by  Roman  authors. 

Speaking  of  a  somewhat  later  period,  Matthew 
Paris,  in  his  "  Lives  of  the  Abbots  of  St.  Albans," 
says  of  Leofstan,  abbot  in  the  time  of  Edward  the 
Confessor,  that  he  cut  through  the  thick  woods 
which  extended  from  the  edge  of  Ciltria  (the  Chil- 
terns)  nearly  up  to  London,  smoothed  the  rough 
places,  built  bridges,  and  levelled  the  rugged  roads, 
which  he  made  more  safe,  "for  at  that  time  there 
abounded  throughout  the  whole  of  Ciltria  spacious 
woods,  thick  and  large,  the  habitation  of  numerous 
and  various  beasts,  wolves,  boars,  forest  bulls  (tauri 
sijtvestres),  and  stags. 

Fitz-Stephen,  writing  about  the  year  1174,  de- 
scribes the  country  beyond  London  in  somewhat 
similar  terms.  "  Close  at  hand,"  he  says,  "lies  an 
immense  forest,  woody  ranges,  hiding-places  of  wild 
beasts,  of  stags,  of  fallow  deer,  of  boars,  and  of 
forest  bulls,"  and  he  employs  the  same  term  (tauri 
sylvestres)  to  designate  the  wild  cattle  to  which  he 
refers,  t 

Nor  was  this  the  only  part  of  the  country 
in  which  these  animals  were  at  that  time  to  be 
found.  Knaresborough  Forest,  for  instance,  in  York- 

*  See  Manwood's  "Forest  Laws,"  §  27 ;  Thorpe's  "Ancient  Law* 
of  England,"  vol.  i.  p.  429  ;  and  Spelman's  "  Glossary,"  p.  241. 
t  "  Vita  Sancti  Thomae,"  torn.  i.  p.  173  (ed.  Giles). 


222  WILD   WHITE  CATTLE. 

shire,    about    the  year   1200,  had  its   "  fierce    wild 
cattle."* 

Speed  tells  usf  that  Maud  de  Breos,  in  order  to 
appease  King  John,  whom  her  husband  had  offended, 
sent  to  his  queen  a  present  from  Brecknockshire  of 
four  hundred  cows  and  a  bull,  all  white  with  red  ears. 
Whether  this  was  the  usual  colour  of  the  ancient 
breed  of  Welsh  and  British  cattle,  or  a  rare  variety, 
esteemed  on  account  of  its  beauty,  and  chiefly  pre- 
served in  the  parks  of  the  nobles,  cannot  be  deter- 
mined with  certainty.  It  is,  perhaps,  more  natural 
to  suppose  that  they  were  all  domesticated,  and  not 
wild  cattle.  In  later  records,  however,  wild  cattle 
are  particularly  referred  to  by  this  name.  "  Six 
wylde  bulls,"  are  included  in  the  bill  of  fare  on  the 
occasion  of  the  feast  given  at  the  installation  of 
George  Nevill,  Archbishop  of  York,  in  1466."! 

Hector  Boece(Boethius),  who  was  a  contemporary  of 
Leland,  and  who  published  his  "  Scotorum  Historise, 
a  prima  Gentis  Origine,"  in  1526,  has  often  been 
quoted  to  prove  the  former  existence  of  wild  white 
cattle  in  Scotland.  §  His  statement  is  to  the  effect 
that  in  the  great  Caledonian  wood,  which  covered  a 
great  tract  of  country,  running  through  Monteith  and 
Strathearn,  as  far  as  Athole  and  Lochaber,  there  were 
bulls  of  the  purest  white,  having  manes  like  lions ; 

*  Walbran,  "  Memorials  of  the  Abbey  of  St.  Mary  of  Fountains" 
(Surtees  Society,  vol.  xliii.). 

t  Speed,  "History  of  Great Britaine,"  folio,  1611. 

J  Lelaud,  "  Collectanea"  (ed.  Hearne),  vi.,  p.  2. 

§  This  work  was  translated  into  the  Scottish  vernacular  by  John 
Bellenden,  Archdeacon  of  Moray,  in  1 5  5 3,  and  into  English  by  Eaphael 
Holinshed  in  1585. 


WILD   WHITE  CATTLE.  223 

and,  though  in  other  respects  they  much  resembled 
domestic  cattle,  they  were  still  so  wild  and  un- 
tamable, and  so  fearful  of  the  approach  of  man,  that 
they  even  fled  from  any  grass,  trees,  or  fruit  that 
had  been  touched  by  him. 

This  account  has  been  copied,  or  at  least  fol- 
lowed by  Paulus  Jovius,*  Gesner,t  Bishop  Leslie,;]; 
Aldrovandus,§  Jonston,||  and  many  other  writers 
much  nearer  to  our  own  time. 

That  it  was  to  some  extent  exaggerated  there  can 
be  no  doubt ;  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  Sir  Robert 
Sibbald,  in  his  "Scotia  Illustrata"  (1684),  should 
have  expressed  the  opinion  that  it  "  wanted  con- 
firmation." Not  that  the  existence  of  wild  cattle  in 
Scotland  was  questioned,  but  only  that  they  pre- 
sented the  appearance  which  was  ascribed  to  them 
by  Boethius. 

From  causes  readily  understood,  wild  cattle  held 
their  ground  longer,  and  continued  in  a  truly  wild 
state  later,  in  Scotland  than  in  any  other  part  of 
Great  Britain.  As  civilization  spread  from  the  south, 
forests  became  partly  cleared,  partly  converted  into 
parks,  and  waste  lands  were  gradually  drained  and 
cultivated.  Wild  animals  became  either  exter- 
minated, like  the  wolf  and  the  boar,  or,  like  the 
white  cattle,  were  driven  further  north  to  their  last 
strongholds.  As  the  population  increased,  game 

*  "  Descriptio  Britannia,  Scotiao,  Hiberniae,  et  Orcadum,"  1548. 

f  "  Historia  Animalium,"  1551. 

J  "De  Origine,  Moribus,  et  Rebus  Gestis  Scotorum,  1578. 

§  "  Quadrupedum  Omnium  Bisulcorum  Historia,"  1632. 

||  "Historia  Naturalis  de  Quadrupedibus,  1657. 


224  WILD   WHITE  CATTLE. 

everywhere  decreased,  except  in  places  where  "liberty 
to  inclose  "  forest  land  was  granted  by  the  king  to 
influential  nobles  or  deserving  courtiers.  Great 
tracts  of  forest  were  from  time  to  time  inclosed 
within  a  pale,  haye,  or  wall,  with  the  game  and  wild 
animals  they  contained,  or  with  others  driven  in,  and 
these  inclosures  became  parks.  Thus  the  land  and 
all  that  it  contained  was  secured  for  ever  to  the 
person  having  the  liberty  to  inclose,  and  no  one  could 
thereafter  enter  or  interfere  without  subjecting  him- 
self to  severe  penalties.* 

This  was  the  saving  of  the  wild  cattle,  which, 
except  for  the  protection  thus  afforded  them,  would, 
like  the  other  animals  mentioned,  have  become 
extinct  centuries  ago. 

Many  such  "licenses  to  inclose  "  (some  of  very  early 
date)  are  still  preserved,  and  furnish,  in  not  a  few 
instances,  a  clue  to  the  history  of  private  herds  of 
wild  white  cattle.  In  enumerating  the  herds  which 
are  known  to  us,  and  concerning  which  some  historical 
notices  are  to  be  found,  it  will  perhaps  be  convenient 
to  take  them  alphabetically,  those  which  are  still 
existing  being  distinguished  by  an  asterisk. 

ARDROSSAN  CASTLE,  AYRSHIRE. — Although  of 
unknown  origin,  it  is  certain  that  a  herd  of  white 
wild  cattle,  with  black  ears  and  muzzles,  existed  here 


*  Storer,  op.  cit.  pp.  75,  76.  By  Stat.  Westminster,  I.  c.  20, 
trespassers  in  parts  might  be  compelled  to  give  treble  damages 
to  the  party  aggrieved,  suffer  three  years'  imprisonment,  be  fined 
at  the  King's  pleasure,  and  give  surety  never  to  offend  in  the  like 
kinil  again ;  and  if  they  could  not  find  surety,  they  had  to  abjure  the 
realm,  or,  being  fugitive,  were  outlawed. 


WILD   WHITE  CATTLE.  225 

between  the  years  1750  (when  they  were  introduced 
by  Alexander,  tenth  Earl  of  Eglinton)  and  1820, 
when,  on  the  death  of  the  twelfth  earl,  Hugh,  being 
much  diminished  in  numbers,  they  were  sent  away 
to  be  killed.  Sir  John  Sinclair,  in  1814,  referred  to 
this  herd  as  one  of  the  few  remaining  representatives 
at  that  time  of  Caledonia's  ancient  breed ;  and 
Robertson,  in  his  "  Description  of  Cunningham  and 
Ayrshire,"  published  in  1820,  has  given  a  good 
description  of  it.  He  states  that  the  animals  in  this 
herd  were  pure  white,  with  the  muzzle  and  inside 
of  the  ears  black,  and  that  they  differed  from  the 
Chillingham  cattle  in  being  polled  or  hornless ; 
in  this  respect  resembling  the  herds  at  Gisburne, 
Middleton,  Somerford,  Whalley,  and  Wollaton. 
Their  number,  he  adds,  was  limited,  not  being  allowed 
to  increase  beyond  about  a  dozen  ;  they  were  thinned 
by  shooting,  which  required  some  precaution  to 
accomplish.  This  account  is  confirmed  by  a  somewhat 
similar  notice,  given  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bryce,  minister 
of  Ardrossan,  in  the  "New  Statistical  Account  of 
Scotland,"  1837. 

AUCHENCRUIVE,  AYRSHIRE. — A  little  more  than 
a  century  ago,  when  this  estate,  now  the  property  of 
Mr.  Oswald,  belonged  to  the  Lords  Cathcart,  a  herd 
of  white  wild  cattle  existed  there.  In  1763  the 
estate  changed  hands,  and  a  few  years  afterwards, 
within  the  lifetime  of  the  first  Mr.  Oswald,  who  died 
in  1 784,  the  cattle,  being  found  troublesome,  were 
got  rid  of. 

BARNARD  CASTLE,  DURHAM,  formerly  part  of  the 


226  WILD   WHITE  CATTLE. 

chase  of  Marwood,  adjoining  the  great  forest  of 
Teesdale,  belonged  successively  to  the  Baliols  (after- 
wards raised  to  the  Scottish  throne),  and  subsequently 
to  the  Beauchamps  and  the  Nevills,  Earls  of  Warwick. 
By  the  marriage  of  the  daughter  and  co-heiress  of 
Richard  Nevill,  Earl  of  Warwick,  the  King-maker, 
in  1471,  with  Richard  Duke  of  Glo'ster,  afterwards 
Richard  III.,  it  became  the  property  and  favourite 
residence  of  that  prince  until  he  ascended  the  throne  ; 
at  his  death  it  reverted  to  the  Crown.  There  can  be 
little  doubt  that  during  the  whole  of  this  period  wild 
cattle  existed  and  were  hunted  here,  for  they  still 
existed  here  150  years  later.  Charles  I,  by  a  grant 
dated  March  14,  1626,  in  consideration  of  a  consider- 
able sum  of  money,  granted  to  Samuel  Cordwell  and 
Henry  Dingley,  in  trust  for  Sir  Henry  Vane,  the 
reversion  of  Barnard  Castle,  with  its  parks,  "  together 
with  all  deer  and  wild  cattle  in  the  said  parks.  "*  It  is 
believed  that  wild  cattle  also  existed  at  one  time  at 
Raby  Castle,  about  six  miles  distant,  the  seat  of  the 
Duke  of  Cleveland. 

BISHOP  AUCKLAND,  DURHAM,  originally  part  of 
Weardale  Forest,  belonged  to  the  Bishops  of  Durham, 
who  kept  wild  cattle  here  before  the  Reformation. 
Leland  describes  it  as  "  a  faire  parke  by  the  castelle, 
having  fallow  deer,  wilde  bulles,  and  kin."  In  1338 
it  was  let  to  Sir  R.  de  Maners,  from  which  it  may  be 
inferred,  says  Raine,f  that  the  deer  and  wild  cattle, 

*  Hutchinson,  "  Hist.  Durham,"  vol.  iii.  p.  245. 

t  "Historical  Account  of  the  Episcopal  Palace  of  Auckland,"  pp. 


WILD   WHITE  CATTLE.  227 

not  mentioned  until  afterwards,  were  then  either  few 
in  number  or  none  at  all  "Wild  kyne,  with  calves 
and  bulles,  &c.,  of  all  sortes,  remayned  in  Auckland 
Parke,  Sept.  24.  1627,  the  number  thirty-two" 
(Raine,  p.  77). 

In  1634  Sir  Wm.  Brereton,  while  a  guest  of  Dr. 
Moreton,  Bishop  of  Durham,  at  Bishoppe  Auckland, 
thus  described  the  cattle  he  saw  :  "A  daintie  stately 
parke  ;  wherein  I  saw  wild  bulls  and  kine  which  had 
two  calves  and  rimers  ;  there  are  about  twenty  wild 
beasts  all  white  ;  will  not  endure  jor  approach,  butt 
if  they  be  enraged  or  distressed,  very  violent  and 
furious :  their  calves  will  bee  wondrous  fatt."* 
These  cattle  appear  to  have  been  all  destroyed 
during  the  civil  wars  of  Charles  I.'s  time.  In  the 
Parliamentary  Survey  of  March  22,  1646-7,  this  park 
is  described,  and  it  is  said  "  the  deere  and  game — 
viz.,  fallow-deere  and  wilde  bulls,  or  bisons — utterly 
destroyed,  except  two  or  three  of  the  said  bisons,  and 
some  few  conies,  in  that  part  of  the  park  called  '  the 
Flaggs,'  under  the  said  walls  of  the  said  castle  or 
palace."  Stainwick  Park,  also  in  the  county  of 
Durham,  the  property  of  the  Duke  of  Northumber- 
land, is  believed  at  one  time  to  have  held  a  herd  of 
wild  white  cattle,  while  there  is  good  reason  for  sup- 
posing that  other  herds  existed  at  Baby  Castle,  the 

*  This  description  is  quoted  by  Raine  in  his  "  Historical  Account  of 
the  Episcopal  Castle  or  Palace  of  Auckland"  (p.  79),  from  a  MS.  in  the 
possession  of  Sir  Philip  Grey  Egerton,  entitled  "  The  Second  Yeare's 
Travell  throw  Scotland  and  Ireland,  1635."  This  MS.  has  been 
printed  by  Sir  Philip  Grey  Egerton,  Ann.  Mag.  Nat.  Hist.,  vol.  ii. 
(1839),  and  also  in  the  first  volume  of  the  Cheetham  Society's 
Publications,  1844. 

Q 


223  WILD   WHITE  CATTLE. 

principal  seat  of  the  Nevills,  and  at  Beaurepaire,  the 
ancient  hunting  park  of  the  Priors  of  Durham.  The 
cattle  at  this  last-named  place,  it  is  said,  were  all 
destroyed  by  the  Scots  in  1315. 

BLAIR  ATHOLE,  PERTHSHIRE. — Fifty  years  ago,  in 
one  of  the  parks  of  this  ancient  seat  of  the  Hurrays, 
Dukes  of  Athole,  in  the  forest  of  that  name,  roamed 
a  herd  of  wild  cattle,  white  with  black  points,  having- 
the  ears,  muzzles,  and  hoofs  black.  In  1834  this 
herd  was  sold,  a  portion  going  to  Taymouth  to  the 
Marquis  of  Breadalbane,  and  the  remainder  toDalkeith, 
to  the  Duke  of  Buccleuch.  Both  these  herds  are  now 
extinct,  but  from  them  has  descended  in  part  the 
semi- wild  herd  which  still  exists  at  Kilmory  House, 
Argyllshire,  the  property  of  Sir  John  Powlett  Orde. 

BURTON  CONSTABLE,  YORKSHIRE,  an  ancient  park, 
at  present  containing  about  290  acres,  is  the  property 
of  Sir  F.  Clifford  Constable.  At  one  time  it  contained 
a  herd  of  white  cattle,  as  we  learn  from  Bewick,  who 
in  1 790  wrote  of  them  as  having  been  then  a  few 
years  extinct.  "  Those  at  Burton  Constable,"  he 
says,  "  were  all  destroyed  by  a  distemper  a  few  years 
since.  They  varied  slightly  from  those  at  Chilling- 
ham,  having  black  ears  and  muzzles,  and  the  tips  of 
their  tails  of  the  same  colour.  They  were  also  much 
larger,  many  of  them  weighing  sixty  stone,  probably 
owing  to  the  richness  of  the  pasturage  in  Holderness, 
but  generally  attributed  to  the  difference  of  kind 
between  those  with  black  and  white  red  ears,  the 
former  of  which  they  studiously  endeavour  to  preserve. 
The  origin  of  this  herd  has  only  been  surmised.* 

*  Sec  Storer,p.  255. 


WILD   WHITE  CATTLE.  229 

*CADZOW  CASTLE,  LANARKSHIRE,  the  seat  of  the 
Duke  of  Hamilton,  with  its  park,  originally  formed 
part  of  the  great  Caledonian  Forest,  wherein  King 
Robert  Bruce,  according  to  tradition,  hunted  the  wild 
bull  in  1320,  and  where,  two  centuries  later  (namely 
in  1500),  James  IV.  of  Scotland  indulged  in  the  same 
wild  sport.  This  park  lias  from  time  immemorial 
contained  a  herd  of  wild  white  cattle,  which  has  been 
frequently  described,  and  which  still  exists.*  Sir 
Walter  Scott  has  immortalized  these  cattle  in  his 
ballad  of  "  Cadyow  Castle":— 

"  Mightiest  of  all  the  beasts  of  chase 

That  roam  in  woody  Caledon, 
Crashing  the  forest  in  his  race, 

The  mountain  bull  comes  thundering  on. 

"  Fierce,  on  the  hunter's  quiver'd  hand, 
He  rolls  his  eyes  of  swarthy  glow, 
Spurns  with  black  hoof  and  horn  the  sand. 
And  tosses  high  his  mane  of  snow." 

He  is  in  error,  however,  when  he  states  that  the 
Cadzow  cattle  were  extirpated  for  their  ferocity 
about  1769.1  In  all  probability  he  derived  this  im- 
pression from  a  statement  to  that  effect  in  the  "  Old 
Statistical  Account  of  Scotland,"  vol.  i.  p.  180  ;  ii.  208. 
As  compared  with  those  kept  at  Chillingham,  the 
animals  in  this  herd  differ  in  having  the  inside  of  the 
ears  black  instead  of  red,  and  the  fore  part  of  the 

*  One  of  the  best  accounts  of  this  herd  is  that  published  by  Jesse, 
•vrho  received  it  from  a  Mr.  Brown,  chamberlain  to  the  Duke  of 
Hamilton. 

f  "Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel,"  8 vo,  1809,  notes,  p.  40-  »M  also 
Stuart's  "  Lay  of  the  Deer  Forest,"  vol.  ii.  p.  225. 

Q2 


230  WILD   WHITE  CATTLE. 

leg,  from  the  knee  downwards,  mottled  with  black. 
The  cows  seldom  have  horns  ;  their  bodies  are  thick 
and  short,  their  limbs  stouter,  and  their  heads  rounder 
than  in  the  Chillingham  breed,  with  small  turn-up 
horns.  In  October,  1874,  there  were  about  thirty 
animals  in  this  park,  including  one  bull,  and  in  a 
field  near  the  park  with  similar  pasturage  were 
fifteen  bulls  and  steers,  along  with  one  old  cow  and 
a  young  heifer — in  all_forty-five  head.  In  June,  1877, 
the  number  had  increased  to  fifty-six.* 

*  CHARTLEY  PARK,  STAFFORDSHIRE,  nearly  i  ooo 
acres  in  extent,  the  property  of  Earl  Ferrers,  was 
formed  by  inclosing  part  of  the  Forest  of  Needwood 
by  charter  of  Henry  III.  "About  this  time  (32,  33 
Hen.  III.,  that  is,  1248-9),"  says  Sir  Oswald  Mosley, 
"  some  of  the  wild  cattle  of  the  country  which  had 
hitherto  roamed  at  large  in  the  Forest  of  Needwood 
were  driven  into  the  park  at  this  place,  where  their 
breed  is  still  preserved,  "t  Erdeswick,  who  began  his 
"  Survey  of  Staffordshire  "  about  1593,  speaks  of  it 
•  as  very  large,  and  having  therein  red-deer,  fallow- 
deer,  wild  beasts  (i.e.,  cattle)  and  swine.  In  an  old 
"  Account  Book  of  the  Steward  of  the  Manor  of 
Chartley,  Prseses,  Com.  Ferrers,"  is  the  following 
entry  : 

"  1658.  Pd  a  moytie  of  the  charge  of  mowings,  makings,  and  carry- 
ing of  hay  for  ye  wild  beasts — £2  "js.  jd." 

In  this  herd,  the  usual  average  number  of  cattle, 
which  were  white  with  black  ears,  is  said  not  to  have 

*  A.  H.  Cocks,  The  Zoologist,  1878,  p.  283. 
f  "Hist.  Tutbury,  co.  Stafford"  (1832). 


WILD  WHITE  CATTLE.  231 

exceeded  thirty;  yet  in  April,  1851,  according  to 
Mr.  E.  P.  Shirley,  there  were  forty-eight,  and  in  1873 
there  were  twenty-seven.  In  July,  1874,  Mr.  Storer 
found  only  twenty-five— namely,  ten  breeding  cows, 
four  bulls  (two  adult),  six  steers,  and  five  heifers,  of 
various  ages ;  the  finest  old  bull  and  one  of  the 
cows,  besides  some  calves,  having  died  since  the 
previous  autumn.  In  June,  1877,  when  Mr.  A.  H. 
Cocks  visited  this  park,  as  described  by  him  in  The 


WILD   BULL   OF   C1IARTLEY. 


Zoologist  (1878,  p.  276),  the  herd,  consisting  of 
twenty  animals,  was  thus  constituted  :  One  nine- 
year-old  bull,  one  five-year-old  bull,  one  bullock,  five 
or  six  young  bulls  of  different  ages,  two  young  bull 
calves  (one  called  two  months  old,  the  other  two  or 
three  weeks),  the  remaining  nine  or  ten  being  cows 
and  heifers  of  various  ages. 

In  appearance  the  Chartley  cattle — independently 


232  WILD   WHITE  CATTLE, 

of  the  different  colour  of  the  ears,  which  are  black 
instead  of  red — are  very  unlike  those  at  Chillingham.* 
They  are,  in  fact,  "long-horns."  Nor  are  they  so 
wild  as  the  Northumberland  herd.  Mr.  Storer  has 
suggested  that  this  is  probably  owing  to  the  circum- 
stance that  the  park  is  bounded  on  one  side  by  a 
public  road,  from  which  it  is  only  separated  by  a 
paled  fence,  which  is  not  the  case  at  Chillingham,  so 
that  they  are  at  Chartley  much  more  habituated  to 
the  sight  of.  man. 

*  CHILLINGHAM  CASTLE,  NORTHUMBERLAND,  the 
seat  of  the  Earl  of  Tankerville,  has  been  oftener 
visited,  and  oftener  written  about,  than  any  other 
park  containing  wild  cattle,  and  is,  therefore,  better 
known  to  the  reading  public.  Of  the  date  of  the 
inclosure  of  this  park  (originally  1 500  acres ;  now, 
exclusive  of  woods,  about  1 1  oo)  no  record  has  been 
found  ;  but  there  is  evidence  of  its  existence  in  1 292,t 
and  "  a  park  with  wild  animals  "  is  referred  to  in  an 
inquisition  42  Edward  III.,  as  "of  no  value  beyond 
the  maintenance  of  the  wild  animals."  The  "great 
wood"  of  Chillingham  is  referred  to  in  a  document  of 
I22O.J  Mr.  Darwin  seems  to  have  thought  that  this 
referred  to  the  park,  since  he  regards  the  date  above 
mentioned  as  that  of  its  inclosure.  §  This,  however,  is 
not  proved  by  the  document  in  question.  At  the 
same  time  it  is  not  at  all  unlikely  that  the  inclosure 

*  See   Plot,   "Nat.  Hist.   Staffordshire,"  1686,  pi.  5;   and  Shaw 
"Hist,  and  Antiq.  Stafford,"  1798. 
t   See  Tate's  "  History  of  Alnwick,"  vol.  i.  p.  94. 
\  Hindmarsh,  "Ann.  Nat.  Hist.,"  vol.  ii.  p.  274. 
§  "  Animals  and  Plants  under  Domestication,"  vol.  i.  p.  81. 


WILD   WHITE  CATTLE.  233 

took  place  about  that  time  (temp.  Hen.  III.),  and 
that  the  cattle  were  then  driven  in,  just  as  they  were 
at  Hamilton,  Drumlanrig,  and  Naworth,  all  of  which 
herds,  together  with  that  at  Chillingham,  were  pro- 
bably detachments  from  the  main  body  of  wild 


WILD   BULL   OF   C1IILLIXGIIAM.* 

cattle  which  formerly  roamed  the  Caledonian  Wood. 
Mr.  Storer  says  : 

"  Whatever  may  be  the  age  of  the  park,  that,  I 
imagine,  indicates  also  the  time  when  the  wild  cattle 
were  first  confined  within  its  boundaries,  for  no 
record  of  their  introduction  exists.  I  suppose  that 
they,  previously  wild  denizens  of  the  surrounding 


*  For  these  two  illustrations  from  Mr.  Storer's  \vc.rk  \v«- 
to  the  courtesy  of  Messrs.  Cassell,  Fetter  and  Galpin.   The  horns  of  the 
Lymc  Park  herd  are  of  an  intermediate  character  lift  \\fi-n  these  two. 


234 


WILD   WHITE  CATTLE. 


forest,  were  then  first  incarcerated,  as  they  were  at 
Chartley  and  at  Lyme."* 

It  is  at  least  certain  that  this  herd  was  in  existence 
two  centuries  ago.  In  Mackenzie's  "  View  of  the 
County  of  Northumberland"  (1825)  there  is  the 
following  note  (vol.  i.  p.  390)  : 

"  In  a  family  account  book,  written  by  William  Taylor,  steward  of 
Chillingham,  and  now  (1821)  in  the  possession  of  his  great-grandson, 
William  Taylor,  Esq.,  Hendon  Grange,  near  Sunderland,  is  an  outlay  : 

"  1689,  Dec.  5,  pd  "Win.  Kadyll's  white  calf  ten  shillings. 

"  May  1692.  Beasts  in  the  Parke.  My  lorde's  16  white  wilde  beasts, 
2  black  steers  and  a  guy,f  1 2  white,  read  and  black  ear'd,  5  blacke 
oxen  and  brown  one,  2  oxen  from  Warke,  from  last  a  steer  killed. 

"  August  '92.  Ye  guy  had  a  calfe,  and  went  to  Upwarke  with  the 
twelve  black  and  read-ear'd,  two  of  the  Warke,  and  the  brown  one  at 
Chivton." 

Many  accounts  of  this  herd  have  been  published 
from  time  to  time,  amongst  which  we  may  refer  to 
those  of  Pennant,  Cully,  Bewick,  Lord  Tanker- 
ville,  Hindmarsh,  and  quite  recently  those  of 
Mr.  A.  H.  Cocks  and  the  Rev.  John  Storer,  all  of 
whom  have  written  from  personal  observation. 

The  account  given  by  the  late  Lord  Tankerville 
("  Ann.  Nat.  Hist.,"  vol.  ii.)  commands  perhaps  the 
chiefest  attention,  since  it  comes  from  a  former* 

*  Chatton,  adjoining  Chillingham,  imparked  by  Edward  I.  in  1291- 
1 292,  contained  "  wild  animals,"  presumably  the  same  as  those  at 
Chillingham. 

t  This  word,  which  is  variously  spelled  "quhy,"  "whye,"  "why," 
"wye,"  and  "twy,"  appears  to  be  an  abbreviation  of  "twynters'* 
(two  winters),  and  signifies  a  two-year-old  heifer.  In  the  Accounts  of 
the  Bursar  of  the  Monastery  of  Durham,  1530-1534,  commonly  called 
"  The  Durham  Household  Book"  (pp.  205,  301,  327),  are  the  following 
entries : — 

"  Et  in  2  twynters  (whyes)  et  2  twynters  (whyes)  emptis  de  Wil- 

helmo  Bernarde  @  9*.  .    ' 36*.. 

Et  in  4  vaccis,  vocatis  whyes  emptis  de  Wilhelmo  Bernarde,  hoc 
anno  @  gs 36,^ 


WILD   WHITE    CATTLE.  235 

owner  of  the  herd,  who  naturally  would  be  expected 
to  know  more  about  it  than  any  visitor. 

In  1692,  according  to  the  steward's  account,  the 
herd  consisted  of  only  14  breeding  animals,  bulls,  and 
cows,  and  calves  of  both  sexes,  and  1 2  steers ;  in 
all  28.  In  1838,  according  to  Mr.  Hindmarsh,  there 
were  about  80,  comprising  25  bulls,  40  cows,  and 
15  steers  of  various  ages.  In  May,  1861,  Mr.  Darwin 
was  informed  by  the  agent,  Mr.  Hardy,  that  they 
numbered  about  50.  This  was  about  the  number 
we  saw  when  visiting  the  park  in  May,  1863.  In 
August,  1873,  the  herd  consisted  of  64  head — 1 7  bulls 
of  all  ages  from  calves  upwards,  19  steers,  and  28 
cows,  heifers,  and  female  calves  (Storer,  p.  171).  In 
October,  1874,  according  to  Lord  Tankerville,  the 
herd  numbered  71.  In  March,  1875,  the  number  had 
again  decreased,  amounting  to  62  only — viz.,  14  bulls 
and  bull  calves,  3 1  cows  and  cow  calves,  and  1 7  steers. 
In  July,  1 877,  there  were  still  fewer — 59  only— con- 
sisting of  8  bulls,  2  7  cows  and  heifers,  and  1 6  steers 
(Zoologist,  1878,  p.  281).  Lord  Tankerville  says 
they  increase  slowly,  several  dying  each  year  by 
accidents  or  by  overrunning  their  calves  when  dis- 
turbed ;  and  the  cows  breed  slowly,  owing  to  having 
frequently  the  calves  still  sucking  the  second  year." 

Bewick's  assertion  that  a  few  of  the  Chillingham 
cattle  in  his  day  had  black  ears  is  confirmed  from  other 
sources.  In  1 692  there  were  more  with  black  ears  than 
with  red  ears,  and  the  present  prevalence  of  red  ears 
seems  to  have  been  brought  about  by  selection. 

DRUMLANRIG  CASTLE,  DUMFRIESSHIRE. — Until  the 


236  WILD   WHITE  CATTLE. 

close  of  the  last  century  there  was  a  herd  of  white 
wild  cattle  here,  the  property  of  the  Duke  of  Queens- 
berry.  Its  origin  is  unknown,  but  it  appears  to  have 
been  of  some  antiquity.  Pennant  (who  went  to  see 
these  cattle)  and  Bewick,  who  has  noticed  them, 
describe  them  as  white  with  black  ears.  According 
to  Mr.  Hindmarsh,  who  derived  his  information  from 
the  clergyman  of  the  place,  "  they  were  driven  away 
about  1780  "  by  the  fourth  and  last  Duke  of  Queens- 
berry.  Other  writers  besides  those  named  have 
identified  the  animals  in  this  herd  with  "  the  wild 
Caledonian  cattle." 

EWELME  PARK,  OXFORDSHIRE,  formerly  belonging 
to  the  De  la  Poles,  Dukes  of  Suffolk,  once  contained 
a  herd  of  wild  cattle.  In  1536  Edward  Ashfield  was 
appointed  by  Henry  VIII.  "keeper  of  the  Park  of 
Ewelme  and  master  of  the  wild  leasts  there.  In 
1 606  Lord  William  Knollys  was  keeper  of  the  park 
and  master  of  the  wild  beasts  in  the  same"  for 
James  I.  That  the  term  of  "wild  beasts  "  referred 
to  wild  cattle,  and  not  to  any  of  the  other  wild 
animals  which  James  I.  delighteth  to  keep,  is  shown 
by  a  reference  to  the  hay  which  was  provided  for 
them,  which  occurs  in  the  conveyance  of  the  park  by 
Charles  I.  to  Sir  Christopher  Nevil  and  Sir  Edmund 
Sawyer  in  1627.* 

GISBURNE  PARK,  YORKSHIRE,  the  seat  of  Lord 
Bibblesdale,  is  situated  in  the  district  of  Craven,  in 
the  West  Hiding.  It  once  formed  part  of  Gisburne 

*  Napier's  "Historical  Notices  of  Swyncombe  and  Ewelme,''  1838, 
pp.  204,  207,  212,  217  ;  Shirley,  "  English  Deer  Parks,"  p.  137. 


WILD   WHITE  CATTLE.  237 

Forest,  while  the  still  more  extensive  forests  of 
Bowland  and  Blackburnshire  were  closely  contiguous. 
80  far  as  can  now  be  ascertained,  it  appears  tolerably 
certain  that  this  herd,  seldom  numbering  more  than 
eight  or  ten  head,  was  once  part  of  the  herd  atWhalley 
Abbey,  the  property  of  the  Asshetons,  and  that 
in  1697,  on  the  death  of  Sir  John  Assheton,  the  last 
baronet  of  Whalley  Abbey,  part  of  the  herd  there 
went  to  Gisburne,  to  the  Listers  (afterwards  Lords 
liibblesdale),*  with  whom  the  Asshetons  were  con- 
nected by  marriage  :  and  the  other  part  was  added  to 
the  previously  existing  herd  at  Middleton  Park, 
belonging  to  his  heirs,  the  Asshetons,  baronets  of 
Middleton.  In  1790  Bewick  wrote: — At  "  Gisburne 
there  are  some  perfectly  white,  except  the  inside  of 
the  ears,  which  are  brown.  They  are  without  horns, 
very  strong  boned,  but  not  high.  They  are  said  to 
have  been  originally  brought  from  Whalley  Abbey, 
in  Lancashire,  upon  its  dissolution  in  the  twenty- 
third  year  of  Henry  VIII.,  and  to  have  been  drawn 
to  Gisburne  by  the  power  of  music" — in  the  same  way 
that  a  herd  of  about  twenty  Red- deer  is  said  to  have 
been  brought  out  of  Yorkshire  to  Hampton  Court.t 

A  few  years  later,  Di».  Whitaker,  in  his  "  History 
and  Antiquities  of  the  Deanery  of  Craven,"  published 
in  1 8 1 2,  gave  the  following  account  of  them,  with 
portraits  of  a  bull  and  cow  (pis.  8  and  9,  p.  37)  and 
a  view  of  the  park  (pi.  10). 

*  The  grandson  of  Thomas  Lister  (to  whom  Sir  John  Asheton  had 
bequeathed  Gisburne  and  part  of  the  Whalley  herd)  and  Catherine 
Asheton  of  Middleton,  was  created  Baron  Ribblesdale  in  1797. 

t  Playford's  "  Brief  Introduction  to  the  Skill  of  Music,"  1655. 


238  WILD   WHITE  CATTLE. 

"  Gisburne  Park  is  chiefly  remarkable  for  a  herd  of 
wild  cattle,  descendants  of  that  indigenous  race 
which  once  peopled  the  great  forests  of  Lancashire. 
After  their  extinction  in  a  wild  state — which  we 
know  did  not  take  place  till  a  short  time  before  the 
age  of  Leland — it  is  highly  probable  that  the  breed 
was  kept  up  by  the  Abbots  of  Whalley  in  the  '  Lords 
Park/  and  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Asshetons,  who 
acquired  possession  of  that  rich  domain  after  the 
Dissolution.  This  species  differs  from  those  of  Lyme 
in  Cheshire,  and  Chillingham  Castle  in  Northumber- 
land— where  alone  in  South  Britain  they  are  now 
preserved — in  being  without  horns. 

"  They  are  white,  save  the  tips  of  their  noses,  which 
are  black  ;*  rather  mischievous,  especially  when  guard- 
ing their  young,  and  approach  the  object  of  their 
resentment  in  a  very  insidious  manner.  They  breed 
with  tame  cattle  ;f  but  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  respect 
for  so  ancient  and  singular  a  family  will  induce  the 
noble  owner  to  preserve  them  from  any  foreign 
admixtures. " 

They  became  extinct  in  1859,  having  become  so 
delicate  from  breeding  in-and-in,  that  their  owners 
could  no  longer  keep  them.  They  had  become  quite 
tame,  and  were  housed  in  winter.  The  last  cow  and 
calf  were  sold  to  Mr.  Legh,  of  Lyme  Park,  in  October, 

*  A  copy  of  the  "History  of  Craven"  in  the  library  at  Gisburne  Park 
has  the  following  note  opposite  the  statement  that  the  noses  were 
black,  in  the  handwriting  of  the  first  Lord  Eibblesdale  :  "  the  ears 
and  noses  of  this  species  of  cattle  are  never  black,  but  most  usually 
red  or  brown." 

t  This  attempt  to  cross  the  breed  failed,  as  did  a  similar  attempt 
which  was  made  by  bringing  a  heifer  from  Lyme  to  Gisburne. 


WILD   WHITE  CATTLE.  239 

1859,  and  on  the  loth  of  November  in  that  year  the 
bull,  the  last  of  his  race,  was  killed. 

HOGHTON  TOWER,  LANCASHIRE,  the  park  whereof 
once  formed  part  of  the  forest  of  Bowland,  had  a  very 
ancient  herd  of  wild  cattle,  which  has  been  extinct 
probably  about  two  hundred  years. 

HOLDENBY  PARK,  NORTHAMPTONSHIRE,  was 
licensed  to  be  imparked  in  1578,  and  was  much  en- 
larged when  James  I.  purchased  the  estate  of  Sir 
Christopher  Hatton  in  1607  (Pell  Records,  p.  80). 
During  the  Civil  War  Holdenby  was  seized,  and 
granted  by  the  Parliament  to  Thomas  Lord  Grey  of 
Groby,  who  sold  it  to  Adam  Baynes,  of  Kiiowsthorp, 
Yorkshire,  who  in  1650  destroyed  the  park  and  pulled 
down  the  mansion.  At  the  time  of  the  sale,  the 
park  of  500  acres  was  stocked  with  upwards  of 
two  hundred  deer  of  different  kinds,  worth  £200, 
and  eleven  cows,  and  calves  of  wild  cattle,  worth 
£4.2.*  Mr.  Storer  thinks  they  were  introduced  by 
James  I. 

*  KILMORY  HOUSE,  ARGYLLSHIRE.  See  BLAIR 
ATHOLE,  whence  this  herd  was  derived. 

LEIGH  COURT,  SOMERSETSHIRE. — This  park,  which 
once  contained  a  herd  of  wild  cattle,  formerly  belonged 
to  the  Augustinian  Canons  of  Bristol,  and  was 
beautifully  wooded.  It  is  now  the  property  of  Sir 
William  Miles,  Bart,  whose  father  in  1 808  purchased 
it  from  the  heirs  of  Lady  Norton.  Two  years  pre- 
viously-—^., in  1806 — the  wild  cattle  there  had 
become  so  savage  that  the  owner  was  obliged  to  have 

*  Baker,  "  History  of  Northamptonshire,"  vol.  i.  p.  197. 


24o  WILD   WHITE  CATTLE. 

them  shot/"  There  is  no  clue  to  their  origin,  and 
this  is  the  only  instance  yet  known  of  a  wild  herd  in 
the  west  of  England. 

*LYME  PARK,  CHESHIRE,  was  originally  part  of  the 
Forest  of  Macclesfield,  and  was  granted  by  Richard 
II.  toward  the  close  of  the  fourteenth  century  to  Sir 
Piers  Legh,  who  was  standard-bearer  to  the  Black 
Prince  at  the  Battle  of  Cresci.  It  has  ever  since 
remained  in  the  family  of  Legh,  and  the  breed  of 
cattle  still  preserved  there  is  thought  to  be  at  least 
as  ancient  as  the  park  itself.  Hansall,  in  his  "  His- 
tory of  Cheshire"  (1817),  says  : 

"  In  Lyme  Park,  which  contains  about  one  thousand 
Cheshire  acres,  is  a  herd  of  upwards  of  twenty  wild 
cattle,  similar  to  those  in  Lord  Tankerville's  park  at 
Chillingham — chiefly  white  with  red  ears.  They 
have  been  in  the  park  from  time  immemorial,  and 
tradition  says  they  are  indigenous.  In  the  summer 
season  they  assemble  in  the  high  lands,  and  in  the 
winter  they  shelter  in  the  park  woods.  They  were 
formerly  fed  with  holly  branches,  with  which  trees  the 
park  abounded ;  but  these  being  destroyed,  hay  is 
now  substituted.  Two  of  the  cows  are  shot  annually 
for  beef." 

Thirty  years  ago  this  herd,  it  is  said,  numbered  as 
many  as  thirty-four  head.  Then  it  gradually 
dwindled  until  in  August,  1875,  when  Mr.  Storer 
visited  Lyme,  there  were  only  four  animals  surviving 
— a  three-year-old  bull,  a  cow,  a  three-year-old  heifer 
in  calf,  and  a  young  calf.  In  two  years'  time  there 

*  Shirley,  "  English  Deer  Parks,"  p.  99. 


WILD   WHITE  CATTLE.  24 r 

was  a  slight  increase,  for  in  June,  1877,  Mr.  A.  H. 
Cocks  found  two  bulls,  two  cows,  and  two  heifers, 
although  one  of  the  cows  unfortunately  was  parti- 
coloured. 

The  loss  of  two  cows  during  the  present  owner's 
time,  and  impairment  of  the  fertility  of  others  by 
the  foot-and-mouth  disease,  as  well  as  the  reten- 
tion at  one  time  of  a  single  bull  which  proved  in- 
fertile, are  the  chief  causes  which  have  led  to  the 
threatened  extinction  of  the  herd,  added  to  which 
Mr.  Legh  attributes  its  present  diminished  numbers 
to  long-continued  in-and-in  breeding  from  near 
affinities. 

Although  in  habits  the  old  Lyme  cattle  resembled 
those  at  Chillingham,  they  were  larger  than  any 
breed  of  cattle  now  existing  in  this  country — higher 
on  the  leg,  more  upstanding,  and  longer  in  the  body 
— very  large  cattle,  with  strong  bone,  much  substance, 
and  a  large  amount  of  flesh  about  the  neck  and  dew- 
lap. They  had  abundance  of  long  rough  hair,  which, 
in  the  males  was  very  fully  developed,  curly  and 
mane-like  on  the  head  and  fore- quarters,  and  the 
hide  was  of  immense  thickness.  They  were  very 
grand  and  symmetrical  in  appearance,  and  their 
movements  were  distinguished  by  a  peculiar  majestic 
stateliness.  Their  flesh  was  excellent,  but  there  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  any  record  kept  of  their 
weights.  For  a  great  many  years,  indeed,  none  but 
cows  were  ever  slaughtered,  and  latterly  not  even 
these.  The  colour  of  the  ears  is  subject  to  variation, 
and,  although  generally  red,  it  is  sometimes  black  or 


242  WILD   WHITE  CATTLE. 

blue  approaching  to  black.  The  horns  are  of  an 
intermediate  character  between  those  of  the  Chilling- 
ham  and  Chartley  breeds. 

MIDDLETON  PARK,  LANCASHIRE,  the  ancient  seat 
of  the  Asshetons,  was  originally  part  of  the  great 
forest  of  Bowland,  whence  possibly  the  ancestors  of 
the  herd  of  white  cattle  which  existed  here  were 
driven  in  on  the  inclosure  of  the  park.  At  Blakeley 
(about  a  mile  from  Middleton  Hall),  says  Leland, 
"  wild  bores,  bulles,  and  falcons  bredde  in  times 
paste."*  Tradition,  however,  affirms  that  the  Middle- 
ton  herd  originally  came  from  Whalley  Abbey,  and 
the  family  connection  which  existed  between  the 
Asshetons  of  Middleton,  the  Asshetons  of  Whalley, 
and  the  Listers  of  Gisburne  renders  it,  in  the  words 
of  Mr.  Assheton,  "  highly  probable  that  had  either 
family  by  any  means  acquired  the  wild  cattle,  they 
were  very  likely  to  have  spread  from  them  to 
the  others."  The  cattle  in  this  herd  were  white 
and  polled ;  some  had  black,  others  brown  ears. 
Dr.  Leigh,  in  his  "  Natural  History  of  Lancashire, 
Cheshire,  and  the  Peak  of  Derbyshire"  (book  ii.  p.  3), 
published  in  1700,  thus  alludes  to  them  :  "  In  a  park 
near  Bury  in  Lancashire  are  wild  cattel  belonging  to 
Sir  Ralph  Ashton,  of  Middleton ;  these,  I  presume, 
were  first  brought  from  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  [a 
mere  surmise,  probably  founded  on  his  acquaintance 
with  the  accounts  given  by  Boethius  and  Leslie  of  the 
Caledonian  bull].  They  have  no  horns,  but  are  like  the 
wild  bulls  and  cows  upon  the  continent  of  America  :" 

*  Leland,  "  Itiu.,"  vol.  vii.  p.  47  (ed.  Hearne). 


WILD   WHITE  CATTLE.  243 

from  which  we  may  infer  that  in  Dr.  Leigh's 
day  the  bulls  showed  some  indication  of  a  mane. 
The  descendants  of  this  herd  are  not  yet  entirely 
extinct,  although  they  have  become  quite  domesti- 
cated ;  for,  on  the  death  of  the  third  baronet  in  1 765, 
when  the  baronetcy  became  extinct,  the  elder  of  his 
two  daughters,  co-heiresses,  married  Sir  Harbord  Har- 
bord  (afterwards,  in  1780,  created  first  Lord  Surfield), 
and  inherited  Middleton  and  the  wild  cattle,  which 
were  then  removed  to  Gunton  Park,  Lord  Suffield's 
place  in  Norfolk.  Here  they  were  preserved  for 
many  years,  but  gradually  declined,  until  on  the 
death  of  the  fourth  Lord  Suffield,  in  1853,  they  ceased 
to  exist  there.  In  the  meantime,  however,  some  had 
been  transferred  to  Blickling  Hall,  originally  the 
property  of  the  Hobarts,  created  Earls  of  Bucking- 
hamshire in  1 746,  and  eventually  inherited  by  the 
Hon.  William  Assheton  Harbord  (eldest  son  of  the 
first  Lord  Suffield)  on  his  marriage  with  one  of  the 
three  daughters  of  the  second  Earl  of  Buckingham- 
shire, who  died  in  1 793  without  male  issue.  Others 
were  sold  about  1 840  to  Mr.  Cator,  of  Woodbastwick 
Hall,  near  Norwich,  but,  being  subsequently  crossed 
with  shorthorns,  the  character  and  colour  of  the  sur- 
vivors have  become  much  altered,  although,  as 
remarked  by  the  Eev.  Mr.  Gilbert,  who  visited  this 
herd  in  November,  1875,  "there  is  a  perpetual 
struggle  at  Woodbastwick  to  reproduce  the  original 
type :  and  this  proves  how  much  more  firmly  fixed  is 
this  in  the  blood  than  is  that  of  any  of  the  recently 
introduced  crosses." 


244  WILD   WHITE  CATTLE. 

NAWORTH  CASTLE,  CUMBERLAND.— It  appears 
from  the  "Household  Book"  of  Lord  William  Howard, 
of  Naworth,  commenced  in  1612,  that  wild  cattle 
were  introduced  into  this  park  in  1629,  from  Martin- 
dale  Forest,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Thornthwaite, 
where  at  that  time  probably  they  roamed  in  a  state 
of  nature.*  The  entry  is  as  follows  : 

1629.  Januari  9.  To  Anthonie  Bearper  George  Bell  &  William 
Halle  for  their  charges  and  paines  in  bringinge  wilde  cattell  from 
Thornthwate — vs.  iiijd. 

The  date  of  their  introduction  at  Naworth  is  thus 
approximately  fixed. t 

The  "  hirde  of  the  forest "  at  this  time  was  Richard 
Fisher,  whose  wages  were  £8  a  year,  paid  half-yearly 
in  May  and  November.  When  any  of  the  wrild 
cattle  here  were  killed,  the  skins  were  sold  with  those 
of  other  oxen,  but  apparently  did  not  fetch  so  much. 
Thus  (at  p.  284)  we  find  the  entry : 

1633.  June  22.  Rec.  for  2  kine  skinns — xiijs. 

Rec.  more  of  him  [i.e.  the  purchaser,  Wm,  Buckle]  for  one  wild  kowe 
skine — iiijs. 

The  calves  were  sometimes  killed  for  the  table,  and 
being  considered  a  delicacy,  were  sent  as  presents  like 
game  and  wildfowl.  Thus  (at  p.  318)  an  entry  runs  : 

1633.  Aug.  23.  To  Mr.  Thomas  Howarde's  manne  bringinge  one 
quarter  of  a  -wilde  calfe  to  my  Ladie—  vs. 

The  cattle  in  this  park,  however,  did  not  remain 
there  many  years.  In  1675  it  appears  they  had 

*  This  "  Household  Book,"  edited  by  the  Eev.  George  Ornsby  for 
the  Surtees  Society,  seems  to  have  escaped  the  notice  of  Mr.  Storer. 

t  The  park  at  ISTaworth  was  then  enclosed  by  a  wall,  as  we  gather 
from  entries  of  payments  for  repairing  it  (e.g.  p.  320). 


WILD  WHITE  CATTLE.  245 

ceased  to  exist,  having  been  destroyed  probably 
during  the  Parliamentary  wars. 

In  a  MS.  and  anonymous  "Description  of  Cumber- 
land," dated  1675,  and  said  to  have  been  written  by 
Edmund  Sandford,  a  gentleman  of  good  family  in  the 
county,  the  writer,  describing  Naworth  Castle  and 
the  neighbourhood,  says  that  around  it  formerly  were 
"  pleasant  woods  and  gardens ;  ground  full  of  fallow 
dear  feeding  on  all  somer  tyme ;  braue  venison  pasties, 
and  great  store  of  reed  dear  on  the  mountains,  and 
white  wild  cattel  with  black  ears  only,  on  the  moores;  and 
black  heath-cockes  and  brone  more-cockes,  and  their 
pootes."* 

*SOMERFORD  PARK,  CHESHIRE,  the  property  of  Sir 
Charles  Shakerley,  is  situate  near  Congleton,  in  the 
heart  of  what  was  once  Maxwell  Forest,  t  An  ancient 
herd  of  white  cattle,  resembling  those  at  Chartley, 
but  polled,  still  exists  here  ;  and  these  animals  are 
considered  to  be  the  best  surviving  representatives 
of  the  hornless  and  tame  variety  of  the  original  wild 
white  breed.  The  colour  is  pure  white ;  the  ears, 
rims  of  the  eyes,  muzzle,  and  hoofs  being  quite  black. 
Like  all  other  old  herds  of  the  forest  breed,  they  have 
a  strong  tendency  to  produce  small  black  spots  on 
the  neck,  sides,  and  legs,  and  this  the  proprietors 
admire  and  encourage  ;  many  of  them  have  therefore 
become  more  or  less  speckled.  When  Mr.  Storer 
visited  this  herd  in  August,  1 875,  it  numbered  twenty 
head.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  no  record  or  even 

*  Jefferson,  "  Hist,  and  Antiq.  Carlisle"  (1838),  p.  361. 
t  Leland,  "  Itinerary,"  vol.  v.  p.  87  (ed.  Hearne). 

R  2 


246  WILD   WHITE  CATTLE. 

tradition  with  regard  to  the  origin  of  this  herd  exists  ; 
for  its  appearance,  according  to  Mr.  Storer,  bespeaks 
great  antiquity.  In  answer  to  inquiries  on  the 
subject,  the  present  owner,  Sir  Charles  Shakerley, 
replied  :  "  We  have  no  history  of  how  they  came,  or 
how  long  they  have  been  here.  I  am  of  the  third 
generation  which  has  known  nothing  about  them. 
The  tradition  is,  they  have  been  here  two  hundred 
years. "  It  is  quite  possible  that,  like  those  at  Lyine 
and  Chartley,  they  may  have  been  originally  wild  in 
the  adjacent  forest,  and  were  driven  in  to  the  park 
when  it  was  first  inclosed.  On  the  other  hand,  being 
of  the  same  race  as  those  at  Middleton,  they  may 
have  come  originally  from  Shakerley,  only  a  few 
miles  distant  from  Middleton  and  Blakeley. 

WHALLEY  ABBEY,  LANCASHIRE,  had  a  park 
attached,  which  was  originally  part  of  the  Forest  of 
Bowland  (granted  by  Edward  VI.  to  a  branch  of  the 
family  of  Assheton),  and  until  1697  contained  a  herd 
of  white  wild  cattle,  which  were  polled.  Some  of 
these,  according  to  tradition,  were  in  that  year  sent 
to  Gisburne  Park,  as  above  mentioned,  where  they 
existed  until  1859  ;  the  remainder  being  transferred 
to  Middleton  Hall,  where,  after  the  death  of  the 
fourth  Lord  of  Sheffield  in  1853,  they  were  no  longer 
preserved. 

WOLLATON  PARK,  NOTTINGHAMSHIRE,  belonging  to 
the  family  of  Willoughby,  Baron  Middleton,  was 
formerly  part  of  Sherwood  Forest,  and  held  white 
cattle  until  about  fifty  years  ago.*  In  1790  Bewick 

*  See  Thoroton,  "  Antiquities  of  Nottinghamshire,"  1677,  pi.  7,  and 
Throsby's  edition  of  this  work,  1790,  vol.  ii.  p.  214,  pi.  27. 


WILD   WHITE  CATTLE.  247 

mentioned  this  herd  as  one  of  the  five  "  only  breeds 
now  remaining  in  the  kingdom."  They  were  all 
white,  with  black  noses  and  black  ears,  and  had  a 
fine  circlet  of  black  round  the  eyes.  They  were 
polled,  or  hornless,  arid  were  known  as  the  "  old  park 
breed,"  a  name  denoting  some  antiquity.  Their  origin 
can  now  only  be  surmised.^  They  became  extinct  in 
the  time  of  Henry,  sixth  Lord  Middleton — that  is, 
between  1800  and  1835 — when,  fourteen  of  them 
having  died  at  one  time  from  eating  dead  branches 
cut  from  trees  near  the  hall,  and  the  herd  having 
thus  become  so  reduced  by  the  accident,  and  the 
survivors  showing  no  tendency  to  breed,  they  were 
ordered  to  be  sold  and  slaughtered. 

Of  all  these  herds,  there  are  now  existing  only 
those  at  Cadzow  (Hamilton),  Chartley,  Chillingham, 
Kilmory,  Lyme,  and  Somerford. 

In  Ireland  no  trace  of  these  wild  cattle  has  yet 
been  discovered,  although  remains  of  the  smaller 
Bos  longifrons  have  been  procured  from  many  Irish 
localities,  t 


*  Storer,  pp.  274,  275. 

t  See  Ball,  "Proc.  Koy.  Irish  Acad.,"  vol.  ii.  p.  541 ;  Wilde,  op.  cit., 
vii.  p.  183.  Adams,  op.  cit.  (second  series),  vol.  iii.  p.  90;  Scouler, 
"  Journ.  Geol.  Soc.,"  Dublin,  vol.  i.  p.  228  ;  Owen,  "British  Fossil  Mam 
mals,"  p.  508;  and  Thompson,  "Nat.  Hist.  Ireland,"  vol.  iv.  p.  35. 


INDEX. 


ACCIDENTS  at  Bear-baiting,  26,  31 

Advertisements  of  Bear-baiting,  30 

Alfric,  Colloquy  of,  79 

Ambrose,  "  Roast  Wolf,"  152 

Annales  Cariibrice,  137 

Antlers  of  Eeindeer,  71,  75 

Asser's  "  Life  of  Alfred  the  Great,"  122 

Aubrey,  "  Natural  History  of  Wiltshire,"  94,  95 

BEAR,  remains  of,  1 1 
„      in  Manea  Fen,  12 
„      at  St.  Bride's  Bay,  12 
„       in  Kent's  Cavern,  1 2 
„       in  the  Victoria  Cave,  12 
„      at  Colchester,  13        . 
„      at  Richmond,  Yorkshire,  13 
„      in  Dumfriesshire,  13 
„       in  Ireland,  13-16 
„      in  Wales,  17 

a  beast  of  chase,  1 7 

its  flesh  esteemed,  17 

mode  of  hunting,  18 

in  Saxon  times,  19,  20 

with  the  Romans,  21 

transported  from  Britaiu  to  Rome,  2 1,  22 
Bears,  Caledonian,  21 

„      traditions  of,  in  the  Highlands,  23 
„  „  in  Ireland,  23 

„      date  of  extinction  in  Britain,  24 
Bear-baiting,  25 

„          accidents  at,  26,  31 

„          advertisements  of,  30 

„          garden,  32 
Bear-wards,  28 


250  INDEX. 

Bears,  Chief  Master  of  the,  27 

„       of  the  Earl  of  Northumberland,  28 
„       of  the  Prior  of  Durham,  28. 
Beaver,  33 

„       in  Wales,  34 

„       Welsh  name  for,  37 

„      mentioned  in  Welsh  laws,  33 

„  „         by  Giraldus  Cambrensis,  35 

„  „          by  Harrison,  35-36 

„  „          by  Drayton,  36 

„  „          by  Camden,  36 

by  Sir  E.  C.  Hoare,  36 

„  „          by  Owen  in  Welsh  Dictionary,  37 

„  „          by  Sir  John  Price,  38 

„  „          by  Humphrey  Llwyd,  38 

Beavers  in  Scotland,  40 

„       mentioned  by  Boethius,  40 

„  „  Bellenden,  40 

Sir  E.  Sibbald,  40 
Beaver,  Gaelic  name  for,  41 

„       discovery  of  remains  of,  42 

„      in  Perthshire,  42 

„       in  Berwickshire,  42 

„       in  Eoxburghshire,  42 

„       in  Norfolk,  42 

„       in  Suffolk,  42 

„       in  Berkshire,  42 

„      in  Kent,  42 

„      in  Cambridgeshire,  43 

„       in  Hampshire,  45 

„       in  Lincolnshire,  45 

„       in  Devonshire,  45 

„      in  Isle  of  Bute,  46-59 
Beaver  skin,  value  of,  34 
Beverley,  derivation  of  name,  46 
Beverege,  46 
Bevere  Island,  46 
Beverburn,  46 
Bevercotes,  46 
Beverstone,  46 
Beversbrook,  46 
Bedd-gelert,  story  of,  140 
Belle  Sauvage,  the,  26 
Berners,  Dame  Juliana,  1 50 
Bernwood,  Forest  of,  80 
Boar,  Wild,  see  Wild  Boar 
Boar's  chase,  the,  90 


INDEX.  25! 

Boar-frank,  96 

Boar's  head,  custom  of  bringing  in,  1 1 1 
„          in  Eastcheap,  in,  112 
„          in  Southwark,  114 
Boar-hunt,  in  Eskdale,  83 
Boar-spears,  84,  85,  114 
Boar,  the,  of  Borestall,  81 
Bolton  Priory,  accounts  of,  144 
Book  of  St.  Albans,  150 

„    of  Howth,  187 

„     of  Information,  191 

„     of  B,ights  of  the  Kings  of  Eriu,  93 
Boyd  Dawkins,  Prof.  W.,  on  remains  of  Bear,  12 

„  „  „  Eeindeer,  62, 74;  on  Wolf,  118 

Bos  primigenius,  skull  of,  216,  217 
Bowland  Forest,  7,  8,  119, 155 
Brochs,  or  ancient  circular  forts,  70 
Burial  Places,  insular,  as  protection  from  Wolves,  182 
Browne,  Sir  Thomas,  on  errors  concerning  Wolves,  204 

CAITJS,  deCanibus,  131 

Caledonian  Forest,  9,  21,  160 

Campbell  of  Glen  Urcha,  172 

Canes  Scotici,  22 

Cannock  Chace,  6 

Canute,  forest  laws  of,  132,  220 

Carmen  de  Bella  Hastingensi,  133 

Carte,  Dr.,  on  Irish  Fossil  Mammals,  14,  66 

Cattle,  Wild,  213 

„         „      British,  219 

„         „      in  Anglo-Saxon  times,  219, 

„        „      Welsh  laws  affecting,  220 

„        „      forest  laws  of  Canute,  220 

„         „      in  Scotland,  222,  223 

,,         ,,      herds  of,  in  parks,  224-245 

„        ,,      at  Ardrossan,  Ayrshire,  224 

,,         ,,      Auchencruive,  Ayrshire,  225 

„        „      Bamard  Castle,  Durham,  225 

„         ,,      Bishop  Auckland,  Durham,  226 

„         „      Blair  Athole,  Perthshire,  228 

„         „      Burton  Constable,  Yorkshire,  228 

„         „      Cadzow  Castle,  Lanarkshire,  229 

„         „      Chartley  Park,  Staffordshire,  230 

„        „      Chillingham  Castle,  Northumberland,  232 

„         „      Drumlaurig  Castle,  Dumfriesshire,  235 

„         „      Ewelme  Park,  Oxfordshire,  236 

„         „      Gisburne  Park,  Yorkshire,  236 


252  INDEX. 

Cattle,  Wild,  at  Hoghton  Tower,  Lancashire,  239 
„        „      Holdenby  Park,  Northamptonshire,  239 
„         „      Kilmory  House,  Argyleshire,  239 
„         .,      Leigh  Court,  Somersetshire,  239 
„         „      Lyme  Park,  Cheshire,  240 
„         „      Middleton  Park,  Lancashire,  242 
„         ,,      Naworth  Castle,  Cumberland,  244 

„      Somerford  Park,  Cheshire,  245 
„        „      Whalley  Abbey,  Lancashire,  246 
„         „      Wollaton  Park,  Nottinghamshire,  246 

Charnwood  Forest,  6 

Chief  Master  of  the  Bears,  27 

Chisholm's,  the  Laird  of,  adventure  with  Wolf,  173 

Coins,  ancient  British,  77,  219 

Corbet,  Peter,  Wolf -hunter  to  Edward  I.,  143 

Cosmo,  Grand  Duke,  travels  in  England,  1669,  197 

Craven  Forest,  8 

Cumberland,  Moors  and  Forests,  4,  8 

Cunobelin,  coin  of,  219 

DERBYSHIRE  Moons,  4 
Drayton's  "  Polyolbion,"  36,  142 

ELDAK,  JOHN,  story  of,  165 

Erdeswick's  "  Survey  of  Staffordshire,"  1593,  86,  97 

Ettrick  Forest,  161 

Evans's  "  British  Coins,"  77 

FITZSTEPHEN'S  Description  of  London,  1174,  5,  84 
Flower,  Prof.  W.  H.,  on  cranium  of  Dog,  117 
Forest  of  Bere,  119, 136,  137 

„       of  Bowland  and  Blackburnshire,  7,119 

„       of  Irwell,  119 

„       near  London  in  1174,  5,  84 

„       of  Marr,  76,  95 

„       of  the  Peak,  7,  145 

„       of  Riddlesdale,  119 

„       of  Savernake,  101,  119,  153 

„       of  Wolmer,  95 
Forests,  former  extent  of  ancient,  4-9 

GIBALDUS  CAMBRENSIS,  Itinerary  of,  35,  93,  186 
Gordon,  story  of  a  Gordon  and  a  Boar,  24,  91 
Great  Grimsby,  Seal  of  the  Corporation  of,  87 

HAYE,  or  Haia,  10 
Hentzner's  Itinerary,  29 


INDEX. 

Highland  Deer  Forests,  4 
Horns  of  Reindeer,  71,  75 

„      of  Wild  Cattle,  216,  217,  231,  233 
Horn,  Hunting-,  10,  149,  205 

„     Nigell'e,  81 

Household  Book  of,  Earl  Ferrers,  102 
„  „       Bolton  Priory,  144 

„      Whitby  Abbey,  148 
„  „       Earl  of  Northumberland,  28 

„  „       Squire  Kitson,  28, 85,  86 

„  „       Monastery  of  Durham,  28,  loo,  101 

„       Earl  of  Hertford,  lot 
„  „      Elizabeth  of  York,  85 

Howel  Dha,  laws  of,  33,  80,  125,  128,  220 
Howell's  "Familiar  Letters,"  194 
Hunting  in  ancient  times,  10 
„        the  Bear,  18 
„          „   Beaver,  34 
„          „   Eeindeer,  72-74 
„          „  Wild  Boar,  79 
„          „  Wolf,  151,  159,  161 

IXGLEWOOD  FOREST,  82 

Isle  of  Bute,  Beavers  in,  46-59 

Ireland,  earliest  account  of  wild  animals  in,  93 

,,      Bear  in,  13-16,  23 

„      Reindeer  in,  65-66 

„      Wild  Boar  in,  92-94 

„      Wolf  in,  185 

JOHN,  Charter  of  Liberties  of,  138 

LANCASHIRE  MOORS,  4 

Lauder,  Sir  T.  D.,  account  of  Moray  Floods,  180 

Leith  Adams,  on  Irish  Fossil  Mammals,  14,  65,  67 

Liulphus,  a  celebrated  Wolf-hunter,  133,  154 

Llwyd  on  Welsh  MSS.,  17 

Lyon,  Lady  Margaret,  and  the  Wolves,  162 

MACCLESFIELD  FOREST,  7 
Macpherson  of  Braekaely,  171 
MacQueen  of  Pall-a-chrocain,  178 
Marr,  Forest  of,  76,  95 
Matthew  Paris,  133 
Maxwell  Forest,  6 
Memprys,  killed  by  a  Wolf,  121 


253 


254 


INDEX. 

NEEDWOOD  FOREST,  5,  6 

Newbury,  the  Peat-pit  near,  89 

New  Forest,  119 

Newton,  Prof.  A.,  on  Zoology  of  Ancient  Europe,  151 

Nigell  and  the  Wild  Boar,  81 

Nigell's  horn,  81 

Northumberland  Moors,  4 

O'FLAHERTY'S  West  or  H'lar  Connaught,  197 

Orkney,  Jarls  of,  hunting  Reindeer,  72-74 

"  Orkneyinga  Saga,"  72-74 

Owen,  Prof.,  on  Fossil  Mammals,  12,  65, 1 17,  215,  218 

PARIS  Garden,  26 

"Paw-calf,"  the,  23,  24 

Peak,  Forest  of  the,  7,  145 

Peat-pit  near  Newbury,  89 

Pennarth,  17 

"  Penitentiale"  of  Abp.  Egbert,  19,  124 

Pennyles  Pilgrimage,  168 

Peter  Corbet,  Wolf-hunter  to  Edward  I.,  143 

Poison  of  Wester  Helmsdale,  176 

"  Polychronicon"  of  Ranulphus  Higden,  186 

"Polyolbion"  of  Michael  Drayton,  36,  130 

QUEEN  ANNE,  advertisements  of  Bear-baiting,  30 
„      Elizabeth  bear-baiting,  27 
„      Mary  Wolf -hunting,  166 

RAY,  "  Synopsis  Methodica  Animalium,"  17 
Reindeer,  61 

„        remains  in  post-glacial  deposits,  62 

„         at  Brentford,  62 

„         Kew  Bridge,  62 

„         Windsor,  62 

„         Oxford,  64 

„        Bedford,  64 

„         Rugby,  64 

,,         Salisbury,  64 

„         Sittingbourne,  64 

,,         Maidstone,  64 
Bath,  64 

„        East  Dereham,  65 

„         Cambridge,  65 

„         Erith,  65 
Chester,  65 

„         in  Lancashire,  65 


INDEX.  255 

Reindeer  in  Ireland,  65 

„         at  Waterford,  66 

„        Limerick,  66 
Clare,  66 

„        Dublin,  66 

„        horns,  character  of,  66-  67 

„  „      figxu-ed,  71,  75 

„        in  Scotland,  67 

„         Eosshire,  67,  70 

„         Sutherland,  68 

„        Caithness,  67,  70,  71 

„         Linlithgowshire,  68 
Perthshire,  68 

„         Dumbartonshire,  69 

„        Ayrshire,  69 
Orkney,  72-74 

„        hunted  in  Caithness  in  I2th  century,  72-74 

„         reintroduced,  76 

„  in  Northumberland,  76 

„  in  Aberdeenshire,  76 

„  in  Orkney,  76 

.Rewards  for  slaying  Wolves,  137,  145,  159,  162,  164,  169,  196 
Richmond  Forest,  119 
Roman  monuments  in  England,  78 
Rosendale  Forest,  8,  1 54 

SALVIN,  F.  H.,  his  tame  Wild  Boar,  no 

Savernake  Forest,  101,  119,  153 

Scotch  Forests,  164 

Sherwood  Forest,  7,  119 

Sibbald's  "  Scotia  Illustrata,"  40,  169 

Skins  of  Wild  Animals,  value  of,  A.D.  940,  34 

Skins  used  for  trimming,  34,  1 57 

Smith,  "Ancient  and  Present  State  of  Co.  Kerry,"  199 

Smith,  Dr.  J.  A.,  on  remains  of  Bear,  13 

„  on  remains  of  Reindeer,  69,  71 

,,  on  ancient  Cattle  of  Scotland,  215 

Staffordshire  Moors  and  Forests,  5 

Sussex,  last  Wolf  in,  154 

"  Swin,"  names  of  places  compounded  with,  89 

TAYLOR'S  "  Pennyles  Pilgrimage,"  158,  168 
Tennent,  Sir  J.  E.,  on  Wolves  in  Ireland,  202 
Torfaeus,  account  of  the  Orkneys,  72 
Tract,  earliest  relating  to  fauna  of  Ireland,  93 
Turbervile  on  Boar-hunting,  102-108 
„          on  Wolf-hunting,  190 


256  INDEX. 

Tusks,  enormous,  of  Wild  Boar,  90,  91 
„    of  large  size  from  Ireland,  94 

WALKER'S  "Mammalia  Scotica,"  131 
Wangford,  Beavers  at,  59 
Welsh,  historians,  notice  of  Beavers  by,  38 
„       laws  of  Howel  Dha,  33,  80,  125,  128,  220 
„       Triads,  16 

West  or  H'lar  Connaught,  197 
Westmoreland  Moors,  4 

White,  Gilbert,  on  Wild  Boars  in  Wolmer  Forest,  95. 
Wild  Boar,  77 

„         its  early  mention  in  history,  77 

„         figured  on  British  coins,  77 

„         in  Celtic  works  of  art,  77 

„        on  Roman  monuments,  78 
at  Eibchester,  78 

„         in  Weardale,  78 

„         at  Birdoswald,  78 

„         at  Little  Langford,  79 

„         in  Saxon  times,  79 

,.        period  for  hunting,  80 

„         in  Forest  of  Bernwood,  80-8 1 

„        in  Inglewood  Forest,  82 

„         in  Eskdale,  82,  83 

„        anecdote  of  a,  83 

„         near  London,  84 

„         in  Oxfordshire,  84 

„        mode  of  spearing,  85,  114 
in  Suffolk,  85 

„        in  Staffordshire,  86 

„        in  Northumberland,  86 

,,         in  Westmoreland,  86 

„         in  Berkshire,  87,  89 

„        in  Hampshire,  87 

„         in  Lancashire,  87 

„         in  Lincolnshire,  87 

„        names  and  places,  89 

„         St.  Andrews,  89,  90 

„        huge  tusks  of,  90,  91 

„         Gaelic  names  of,  92 

„        in  Perthshire,  92 

„        in  Berwickshire,  92 

„        in  Ireland,  92,  93 

„         Irish  names  for,  94 

„         attempted  reintroduction  of,  94 

„        in  the  New  Forest,  94 


INDEX.  257 

Wild  Boar,  in  Essex,  95,  96 

„        in  Wolmer  Forest,  95 

„        in  the  Forest  of  Marr,  95 

„        in  Dorsetshire,  95,  96 

„         in  Staffordshire,  97 

„         in  Derbyshire,  97,  98 

„        date  of  extinction  of,  100 

„         in  Durham,  100 

„        in  Savernalce  Forest,  101 

,,        in  Lancashire,  101 

„         at  Windsor,  102 

„         in  Westmoreland,  102 

„         mode  of  hunting,  102-108 

„        names  for,  at  different  ages,  108 

„        a  tame  one,  1 10 
Wild  Cattle,  see  Cattle,  Wild 
Wolf,  115 

„     formerly  common  in  Britain,  116 

„    geological  evidence,  117 

.,     districts  formerly  infested,  118,  119 

„     skull  of,  117,  120,  121 

„     hunted  by  the  Britons,  121 

„  „      by  the  Saxons,  122 

„    mentioned  in  the  "  Penitentiale"  of  Abp.  Egbert,  124 

„     retreat  at  Flixton,  125 

„     tribute  imposed  by  Edgar,  125-132 

Edgar's  house,  near  Glastonbury,  132 

Forest  laws  concerning,  132 

on  English  battle-fields,  133,  134 

in  Northumberland,  134,  149 

in  Eichmondshire,  135,  147,  152 

in  the  New  Forest,  1 36 

in  the  Forest  of  Bere,  136-137 

in  the  Forest  of  Bowland,  119,  155      • 

in  Caernarvonshire,  137 

in  Devonshire,  138 

in  Northamptonshire,  139,  141,  142,  144 

in  Surrey,  139 

story  of  Bedd-gelert,  140 

in  Leicestershire,  142 

in  Hampshire,  142 

in  Gloucestershire,  143 

in  Worcestershire,  143 

in  Herefordshire,  143 

in  Shropshire,  143 

in  Staffordshire,  143 

in  Huntingdonshire,  144,  148 


258  INDEX. 

Wolf,  in  Cambridgeshire,  144 
„    in  Buckinghamshire,  144, 148 
„     in  Eutlandshire,  144, 148 
„    in  Yorkshire,  144,  145,  155,  156 
„    in  Derbyshire,  145,  146 
„    in  Wiltshire,  146,  153 
„     in  Nottinghamshire,  147,  149 
„     in  Oxfordshire,  148 
„    in  Essex,  143,  148 
„    in  Lancashire,  154,  155 
„    names  and  places,  1 54 
„    in  Scotland,  158 
„     in  the  Caledonian  Forest,  1 60 
„    in  the  Ettrick  Forest,  161 
„    statutes  for  destruction  of,  161 
„    in  Mount  Caplach,  163 
„    in  Scotch  forests,  164-168 
„     Gaelic  names  for,  171 

„    rewards  for  slaying,  137,  145,  159,  162,  164,  169,  196 
„    traditions  concerning,  170-183 
Wolf-hall,  Savernake,  101,  153 
Wolf's-head,  signification  of,  124 
Wolf -hounds,  188 

„  sent  as  presents,  189,  190 

„  prohibition  against  exporting,  195 

Wolf -hunt  lands,  145-149 
Wolf-skins,  temp.  Charles  II.,  169 
Wolf-stone,  the,  157 
Wolves  in  Ireland,  185 
„    in  Ulster,  193,  194 
„     in  Munster,  192-199 
„     in  Connaught,  197 
„    near  Dublin,  193 
„     in  Cork,  198 
„     in  Kerry,  199 

„    proposed  Act  for  destruction  of,  in  Ireland,  193,  197 
„    names  and  places,  183,  184 
„     date  of  extinction,  204 

VERSTEGAN'S,  "Restitution  of  decayed  intelligence,"  123,  124 
YORKSHIRE  MOORS,  4 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

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